Lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy in early‐stage breast carcinoma

Lymphatic mapping with sentinel lymph node biopsy has the potential for reducing the morbidity associated with breast carcinoma staging. It has become a widely used technology despite limited data from controlled clinical trials.

A systematic review of the world's literature of sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy in patients with early-stage breast carcinoma was undertaken by using electronic and hand searching techniques. Only studies that incorporated full axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), regardless of SLN results, were included. Individual study results along with weighted summary measures were estimated using the Mantel-Haenszel method. The correlations of outcomes with the study size, the proportion of positive lymph nodes, the technique used, and the study quality were evaluated.