ThP1.12 - Axillary Node Clearance Following Positive Sentinel Node Biopsy: Is it Always Necessary?

Abstract Aim The study was carried out to determine what proportion of patients have residual disease on completion Axillary node clearance (ANC) following positive nodes on prior Sentinel node biopsy (SNB) and assess for correlation between possible predicting factors such as neoadjuvant chemotherapy and the absence of positive nodes at ANC. Methods Operation records of patients who had surgery for breast cancer were used to identify all patients who had Axillary node clearance done from 2020 to 2023. Patients who did not have SNB prior to ANC were excluded. Results Less than 45% of patients had residual disease on completion ANC. Data was evenly spread between ductal carcinoma and lobular carcinoma on biopsy. There was no significant correlation found between number of positive nodes found at SNB and positive nodes at ANC. More than 50% of patients who had neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to procedure were node-negative on completion ANC. Conclusion Management of axillary disease post positive SNB remains debatable. Use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy may reduce the need for completion axillary node clearance.