Axillary node sampling in breast cancer: an assessment of its efficacy

A study of 799 patients undergoing consecutive axillary node sampling performed by all grades of surgeon is discussed. The number of nodes sampled ranged from 0 to 12 with only 17 patients (2%) having less than three nodes in the specimen submitted for pathology. The mean number of nodes sampled was 4.7 and the median was 4. The percentage of patients who were node positive did not increase significantly as the number of nodes sampled increased. This study has shown that it is possible to dissect out axillary nodes consistently and that the chance of identifying involved nodes does not increase as the number of nodes sampled increases. Axillary node sampling procedures should be more widely used particularly in patients with a low probability of nodal involvement.