Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy For Locally Advanced Breast Cancer

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Patients Presenting With Locally Advanced Breast Cancer: A Prospective Study

This study is being done to help the investigators determine how accurate the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) procedure is in identifying residual cancer cells after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients presenting with locally advanced breast cancer.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Female patients over 18 years of age with biopsy-proven breast cancer
• Patients presenting with locally advanced disease in the breast (cT4) and/or in the nodes (cN2/N3) as assessed by clinical exam and imaging
• Patients presenting to surgery clinic after receipt of NAC at outside hospital with documentation of cT4 or cN2/3 disease on initial outside physical exam and imaging studies
• Patients receiving NAC and having a nodal complete clinical response as assessed by physical exam

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with a prior history of ipsilateral breast cancer
• Pregnant patients
• Patients with persistent palpable axillary nodes after NAC, as assessed by physical exam
• Patients not consenting to ALND