5-Year follow-up of sentinel node negative breast cancer patients

Aim To report the long-term results of sentinel node negative breast cancer patients treated without axillary lymph node dissection and the 5-year follow-up results of 149 patients. Methods The incidence of axillary—and local recurrences and second ipsilateral primary tumours was evaluated. The added value of annual ultrasound of the treated axilla, being part of the standard follow-up, was also evaluated. Results After a mean follow-up of 65 months (50–79) axillary recurrences were observed in four patients, local recurrences or ipsilateral second primary tumours were diagnosed in another seven patients. All axillary recurrences were diagnosed because of a palpable axillary mass; ultrasound in combination with fine needle aspiration cytology did not have an added value. Conclusion It can be concluded that the incidence of axillary recurrences after negative SN is much lower than expected. There is no added value of US and FNAC of the axilla in the routine follow-up of SN negative patients.