A Single-Center Analysis of Sentinel Node Biopsy for Male Breast Cancer

Abstract

Purpose: Sentinel node biopsy (SNB) is a standard treatment procedure for female breast cancer. However, the utility of SNB for male breast cancer (MBC) has not been established; therefore, this topic was the focus of our study.
Patients and Methods: Six patients with MBC underwent SNB using dye alone. The mean age of the patients was 69 years and patients were clinical stage was I or ⅡA. Sentinel node (SN)-negative patients were followed without axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). The median follow-up term was 60 months.
Results: SNs were detected in 6 patients (100％). One patient was SN-positive (16.7％), and underwent ALND. No patient had adverse events due to the dye injection and there was no arm lymphedema in patients who did not undergo ALND. Two (40％) of the remaining 5 patients who did not undergo ALND had axillary lymph node (ALN) relapse and subsequently underwent salvage ALND. No patients relapsed at distant sites. At present, 5 patients are alive, and one died from an unrelated disease.
Conclusion: Intensive follow-up is needed after SNB without ALND in MBC because of the high rate of ALN relapse.