Morbidity After Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Primary Breast Cancer: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) as part of surgical treatment for patients with breast cancer is associated with significant morbidity. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a newly developed method of staging the axilla and has the potential to avoid an ALND in lymph node–negative patients, thereby minimizing morbidity. The aim of this study was to investigate physical and psychological morbidity after SLNB in the treatment of early breast cancer in a randomized controlled trial. Patients and Methods Between November 1999 and February 2003, 298 patients with early breast cancer (tumors 3 cm or less on ultrasound examination) who were clinically node negative were randomly allocated to undergo ALND (control group) or SLNB followed by ALND if subsequently found to be lymph node positive (study group). A detailed assessment of physical and psychological morbidity was performed during a 1-year period postoperatively. Results A significant reduction in postoperative arm swelling, rate of seroma f...