5-year oncological outcomes of targeted axillary sampling in pT1-2N1 breast cancer

Background: axillary lymph nodes dissection (ALND) has been a standard treatment in breast cancer with positive sentinel LNs. However, various short- and long-term postoperative morbidities have been reported after conventional ALND. To define the concept of targeted axillary sampling (AS) and to assess its oncological feasibility for breast cancer. We compared the oncological outcomes in the axillary area between conventional ALND and targeted AS with or without radiotherapy. Methods: One hundred and twenty-nine female patients with cT1-2N1 breast cancer underwent breast and axillary surgery. We defined the concept of targeted AS in clinical and pathological terms, and the oncological outcomes were compared between ALND and AS, and between AS with and without radiotherapy. Results: There were no significant differences in oncological outcomes in the axilla between conventional ALND and AS, or between AS with radiotherapy and AS alone. Conclusions: The 5-year oncological outcomes of targeted AS were not inferior to those of conventional ALND, regardless of whether radiotherapy was added.