AUTHOR=Bouquet de Jolinière Jean , Major A. , Khomsi F. , Ben Ali N. , Guillou L. , Feki A. 

TITLE=The Sentinel Lymph Node in Breast Cancer: Problems Posed by Examination During Surgery. A Review of Current Literature and Management

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Surgery

VOLUME=5

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/surgery/articles/10.3389/fsurg.2018.00056

DOI=10.3389/fsurg.2018.00056

ISSN=2296-875X

ABSTRACT=<p>The presence of tumor cells can be identified in the lymph node when metastasis has occurred from the primary cancer site into the lymph node (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="B1">1</xref>) If the sentinel lymph node ganglion is negative for the presence of tumor cells at the time of histological examination, the other lymph nodes are also negative in 99% of cases. If no tumor cells are identified in the sentinel lymph node ganglion by histological examination, the other lymph nodes are also negative for the presence of tumor cells in 99% of cases. The sentinel lymph node advantageously replaces axillary dissection as a staging method in breast cancer T1 and T2 (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="B2">2</xref>). Approximately 40% of breast cancers metastasize to axillary lymph nodes and metastatic extension depends on disease stage. Sentinel lymph nodes are affected in the following stages: T1a (4.3%), T1b (19.5%), T1c (23.8%), T2 (48.9%), T3 (66.7%).</p>