Evaluation of the Axillary Surgery Performed in Clinically Node-Positive Breast Cancer Patients Following Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

Background The American College of Surgeons Oncology Group Z1071 trial in 2013 demonstrated the fesability of sentinel lymph node biopsy in clinically node-positive patients following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The goal of this study was to determine the continued impact of this study on our practice pattern. Materials and Methods This is a retrospective review of institutional changes in the management of axillary nodal disease following the publication of Z1071. Patients with clinically node-positive disease that completed neoadjuvant chemotherapy between 2014 and 2020 were included. The Cocoran-Armitage trend test was used to analyze change in categorical variables over time, and the Spearman's rank coefficient was used to analyze two-ranked variables. Results A cohort of 102 patients were included in the study and demonstrated that the number of sentinel lymph node biopsies to evaluate axillary disease increased over time. Additionally, the number of biopsies of suspicious nodes, and the use of marker clips on the biopsied nodes increased over time. Conclusion Our institution has continued to incorporate the result from Z1071 in our practice patterns.