Assessment of ultrasound features predicting axillary nodal metastasis in breast cancer

Purpose: In preparation of a planned study to compare axillary sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) versus no axillary surgery in patients with early breast cancer (Intergroup-Sentinel-Mamma-Trial) we evaluated the accuracy of axillary ultrasound (AUS) in detecting axillary nodal metastasis. The aim was to identify ultrasound features with high predictive power and to create a suitable clinical flow chart. Material and methods: In this prospective study, 120 patients with primary diagnosis of breast cancer were included. AUS was performed using a 12 MHz linear-array tranducer before core needle biopsy and the follo…