Sentinel lymph node biopsy in two Burgundy districts: Prospective multicentric study on 528 breast cancers during the year 2005

Objectives Our purpose was to assess development of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in two Burgundy districts during the year 2005. Methods All women undergoing breast surgery as primary care between 1 January 2005 and 1 January 2006 were eligible for inclusion. Eleven surgeons from Wve diVerent breast-treatment centres took part in this prospective multicentric study. As our objective was to evaluate practices, patients were not randomized and surgeons were free to choose treatment patterns. Results The 528 enrolled cases account for 90% of all new breast cancers in 2005 in Cote d'Or and Saône et Loire. Half of these patients (286) fulWlled requirements for SLNB. The others (242) had primary full axillary clearance (AC). Four of our Wve centres oVer double-detection of sentinel lymph nodes as well as intraoperative pathology examination. Most tumours were invasive ductal carcinomas, with an average size of 12 mm in the SLNB group (T1C) and 22 mm in the AC group (T2). Two or three lymph nodes were removed during each SLNB procedure.