21 YEARS AFTER INTRODUCING SENTINEL LYMPH NODE BIOPSY IN CLINICAL PRAXIS AT THE ONCOLOGY INSTITUTE OF VOJVODINA

Introduction: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a standard procedure at the OncologyInstitute of Vojvodina since 1999 and during this period we have done more than 1700 biopsies. The aim of this study was to present our results in SLNB in breast cancer surgery. Materials and methods: This retrospective study was performed at the Department for Surgical Oncology at the Vojvodina Institute of Oncology in the period from January 1999 to December 2019. The study included 1762 patients who had undergone SLNB. The mean duration of the follow-up period was 121.89 months. All patients were women with clinically T1-2N0-1M0 breast cancer. Preoperatively, all patients were administered dual contrast media, radiotracer , and blue dye. Results: The majority of tumors were T1c (955 (54.18%). The mean number of extirpated sentinel lymph nodes (SLN) in both groups was 1.84. In 199 (36.72%) patients SLN was the only metastatic lymph node in the axilla.  Micro metastases were found in 113 (21.03%) patients. The overall diagnostic accuracy of SLNB was 96%. Conclusion: Axillary SLN can serve as a reliable predictor of negativity of other ipsilateral axillary nodes. Micro metastases in the SLN are not an indication for complete axillary lymph node dissection.