Accuracy of axillary nodal ultrasound and ultrasound fine needle aspiration/core biopsy in the preoperative staging of patients with invasive breast cancer

Patients with invasive breast cancer undergo axillary ultrasound ± ultrasound fine needle aspiration (US-FNA)/core biopsy for preoperative staging depending on the ultrasound appearance. At our institution, abnormal axillary lymph node assessment includes: a cortical thickness >3 mm, focal or eccentric cortical thickening, nodal shape (spherical) and replaced appearance with loss of echogenic nodal hilum. Our aims were to evaluate the accuracy of preoperative US + US-FNA/core biopsy for detecting axillary metastatic disease.