Axillary lymph node evaluation performed frequently in DCIS

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http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-04-axillary-lym...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/15040...

"Axillary lymph node evaluation is performed frequently in women with ductal carcinoma in situ breast cancer, despite recommendations generally against such an assessment procedure in women with localized cancer undergoing breast-conserving surgery, according to a study published online by JAMA Oncology.".......

"Despite uncertainty regarding the clinical benefit of axillary evaluation in women with DCIS, we found that 17.7 percent of women undergoing BCS and 63 percent of women undergoing mastectomy had either an SLNB or ALND. Though use of axillary evaluation in DCIS may be appropriate in some cases, the high rates of axillary evaluation indicate that additional research is needed in this area. In addition to better predictive tools for axillary involvement, other surgical approaches should be evaluated, such as placing a marker in the node rather than removing it, thus allowing for sentinel node removal at a second operation should invasive cancer be identified on final pathology. Perhaps most importantly, additional prospective evaluation is needed to determine if there is a clinical benefit to axillary evaluation in women with DCIS," the study concludes."