Sentinel lymph nodes before chemotherapy: The Besançon experience

1122 Background: It is debatable whether sentinal lymph node (SLN), before chemotherapy in locally breast cancer (LBC) is feasible. Impact on survival and locoregionally recurrence are unknown. Methods: 256 consecutive patients with LBC treated in Franche Comté (France) between 2004 and 2010 by standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy were retrospectively studied. 177 patients underwent axillary lymph node (ALN) dissection after chemotherapy (cohort A) and 79 patients underwent SLN before chemotherapy (cohort B). The aim of this study was designed to confirm the feasible of SLN before neoadjuvant chemotherapy without negative impact of recurrence and survival. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated using Kaplan-Meier method. Differences in OS and DFS according ALN exploration were tested for significance using the Log-Rank test. Results: No statistically significant differences were observed in terms of median age (respectively 59 and 48 years in cohort A and B), tumor size, histological type, grading score, estrogen receptor, progesteron receptor and human epidermal receptor-2 status. No difference of breast conserving surgery was observed between cohort A and B (56.25 vs. 64.56%, p = 0.21). In cohort B, 38 patients (48.10%) of patients underwent SLN alone. For others patients (n = 41, 51.90%), secondary complete axillary lymphadenectomy was performed in the same time of breast surgery. After a median follow up of 57 months (range: 38-105), there was no significant difference in termsof local and axillary recurrences (1.13 vs. 1.27%), metastatic recurrence (11.30 vs. 11.40%). Five-year DFS (76 vs 81%, p = 0.55) and 5-year OS (91 vs. 97%, p = 0.76) did not differ between patients in cohort A and B. Conclusions: SLN before neoadjuvant chemotherapy is feasible and allows to avoid ALN dissection in nearly 50% of patients without impact on recurrence and survival.