Outcomes and bioethical implications of lymphadenectomy in mastectomized patients: Importance and indication of ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy

Lymph node involvement is the main prognostic factor in breast cancer. Mastectomized patients usually undergo lymphadenectomy (LA) of micrometastatic sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) despite the evidence of AMAROS trial to replace this therapy with radiotherapy in select cases. We demonstrate the ability of ultrasonography to detect non-metastatic or micrometastatic SLNs. Method: 132 patients who underwent mastectomy were evaluated. Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) was indicated for suspicious lymph nodes. LA and SNL biopsy (SLNB) were performed in patients with positive and negative FNAB, respectively. LA was performed in cases of positive FNAB or positive SLNB except in the presence of isolated tumor cells and micrometastatic SLNs. The tumor burden after LA in patients with negative FNAB and positive SLNB was measured, and the presence of two or fewer positive SLNs was considered a low burden. Results: Sensitivity of FNAB for detecting positive lymph nodes in patients with a high tumor burden was 93% in our series, specificity was 84%. Positive (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were respectively 60% and 79%. Conclusions: LA could have been avoided in 90% of mastectomized patients with negative FNAB and a low tumor burden who met the AMAROS criteria with a high NPV (79%).