BACKGROUND & AIMS:
BACKGROUND:The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of detecting the variation of sentinel lymphatic channels (SLCs) and sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in breast cancer patients using contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS).
METHODS:A total of 46 breast cancer patients were prospectively recruited in the study. All the participants received intradermal and peritumoral injection of microbubbles as contrast agent, and SLCs and SLNs were assessed preoperatively. Blue dye was injected subareolarly and peritumorally during the surgery. The SLNs detected by CEUS and blue dye were sent to the pathology laboratory for histopathological analysis.
RESULTS:At least one SLC and SLN were detected by CEUS in all 46 cases. Three types of SLCs were detected, including superficial sentinel lymphatic channels (SSLCs), penetrating sentinel lymphatic channels (PSLCs), and deep sentinel lymphatic channels (DSLCs). Five lymphatic drainage patterns (LDPs) were found, including SSLC, PSLC, SSLC + PSLC, SSLC + DSLC, and SSLC + PSLC + DSLC. Only SSLC was detected on CEUS in 24 cases; only PSLC was detected in 3 cases; both SSLC and PSLC were detected in 8 cases; both SSLC and DSLC were detected in 7 cases; SSLC, PSLC, and DSLC were all detected in the remaining 4 cases. An actual LDP was defined on the combination of CEUS and dissection of the specimen. The accuracy rate of CEUS was 43/46. Interestingly, a bifurcated SLC was found in 8 patients. In 3 patients, a discontinuous SLC and non-enhanced SLN were found by CEUS. Also, no dyed SLNs were detected during the surgery. The axillary lymph nodes turned out tumor involved histologically.
CONCLUSION:CEUS is feasible to assess the variation of SLCs and SLNs preoperatively in breast cancer patients. SLNB is not suggested when a discontinuous SLC and non-enhanced SLN were detected by CEUS.
背景与目标:
背景:这项研究的目的是评估使用超声造影(CEUS)检测乳腺癌患者前哨淋巴通道(SLC)和前哨淋巴结(SLN)变化的可行性。
方法:前瞻性招募了46名乳腺癌患者。所有参与者都接受了皮内和肿瘤周围微泡注射作为对比剂,并且术前评估了SLC和SLN。在手术过程中,将蓝色染料经乳晕腔和周皮注射。经CEUS和蓝色染料检测到的SLN被送至病理实验室进行组织病理学分析。
结果:在所有46例患者中,CEUS至少检测出一种SLC和SLN。检测到三种类型的SLC,包括浅表前哨淋巴通道(SSLC),穿透前哨淋巴通道(PSLC)和深前哨淋巴通道(DSLC)。发现了五个淋巴引流模式(LDPs),包括SSLC,PSLC,SSLC PSLC,SSLC DSLC和SSLC PSLC DSLC。在CEUS中仅检测到SSLC 24例。 3例中仅检测到PSLC; 8例同时检测到SSLC和PSLC; 7例同时检测到SSLC和DSLC;在其余4例中均检测到SSLC,PSLC和DSLC。 CEUS和标本解剖的结合定义了一个实际的LDP。 CEUS的准确率为43/46。有趣的是,在8例患者中发现了分叉的SLC。在3例患者中,CEUS发现了不连续的SLC和未增强的SLN。而且,在手术期间未检测到染色的SLN。腋窝淋巴结在组织学上证实为肿瘤。
结论:CEUS在评估乳腺癌患者术前SLC和SLN的变化中是可行的。当CEUS检测到不连续的SLC和未增强的SLN时,不建议使用SLNB。