PRE-OPERATIVE ULTRASONOGRAPHIC EVALUATION OF AXILLARY LYMPH NODES IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS: FOR WHICH GROUP STILL OF ADDITIONAL VALUE AND IN WHICH GROUP CAUSE FOR SPECIAL ATTENTION?

A non-invasive and widely available method for pre-operative evaluation of the axilla is axillary ultrasonography (US). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of axillary US and fine-needle aspiration cytology in a large cohort of breast cancer patients. The sensitivity and specificity of US and fine-needle aspiration cytology in our cohort of 1124 patients were 42.2% and 97.1%, respectively. As the number of axillary nodes increased, sensitivity increased. The percentage of false-negative US results was 18.9%; patients in this subgroup were significantly younger, had larger tumors, more often had lymph vascular invasion and were more likely to have estrogen receptor-positive tumors. Ultrasonography in combination with fine-needle aspiration cytology is useful in the pre-operative workup of breast cancer patients, especially patients with three or more nodal metastases. Special attention should be paid to younger women with larger tumors in whom a larger percentage of false-negative results are obtained. (E-mail: y.moorman@zgt.nl) (C) 2015 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.