Axillary dissection for low-volume nodal involvement after neoadjuvant therapy in breast cancer: Multicentre AXSANA cohort study

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • AXSANA Study Group - (Author)
  • Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics
  • Ulm University
  • The Filder Clinic
  • University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein - Campus Lübeck
  • University Hospital Augsburg
  • RWTH Aachen University
  • Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane
  • Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University
  • University Hospital Tübingen
  • Agaplesion Markus Hospital Frankfurt
  • University of Rostock
  • Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus
  • MediClin Müritz‑Klinikum)
  • Klinikum Esslingen
  • Medical University of Graz
  • St. Vincenz Hospital Paderborn
  • Marienhospital Bottrop gGmbH
  • University Hospital Navarra (CUN)
  • Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC)
  • University of Lugano
  • National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
  • Babes-Bolyai University
  • Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy
  • University of Helsinki
  • University of Zielona Gora
  • Regional Hospital in Poznan
  • Champalimaud Foundation
  • University of Oslo
  • Hygeia Hospital
  • Azerbaycan Tibb Universiteti
  • Vrije Universiteit Brussel
  • Clinica Oncosalud
  • European Breast Cancer Research Association of Surgical Trialists (EUBREAST) e.V.
  • Max Healthcare
  • Charles University Prague
  • Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
  • Institute of Oncology Ljubljana
  • Heart and Brain Center of Clinical Excellence Pleven
  • Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer
  • Chulalongkorn University
  • University of Health Sciences
  • Protestant Deaconess Hospital Freiburg
  • Azienda Ospedaliera - Universitaria Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino
  • University of Hamburg
  • IRCCS Hospital San Raffaele - Milano
  • Vita-Salute San Raffaele University
  • Saint Göran Hospital
  • Karolinska Institutet
  • University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden

Abstract

Background Completion axillary lymph node dissection (cALND) is often recommended for patients with isolated tumour cells (ITCs) or micrometastases in the sentinel lymph node (SLN) or target lymph node (TLN) to assess the definite nodal tumour burden after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). The aim of this study was to investigate the upgrade of N stage by cALND in patients with low-volume metastases in the SLN/TLN after NACT from the prospective, international, multicentre AXSANA cohort study. Methods NACT-treated patients that converted from a positive to a negative clinical lymph node status and underwent cALND based on low-volume SLN/TLN involvement were included. The association between the final N stage, the pathological tumour response in the breast, and the clinical impact of cALND on post-NACT treatment decisions was determined. Results Among 5329 patients recruited between June 2020 and March 2024, 2194 were scheduled for SLN biopsy (SLNB), targeted axillary dissection (TAD), or TLN biopsy (TLNB). Among 16 patients with ypN0i+(SLN/TLN), one patient was upgraded to ypN1a by cALND, while five of the 71 patients with ypN1mi(SLN/TLN) were upstaged to ypN2 and one of the 71 patients with ypN1mi(SLN/TLN) was upstaged to ypN3. None of these patients had a pCR in the breast and thus nodal upstaging had no impact on post-NACT treatment decisions. Conclusion Despite substantial additional nodal involvement in low-volume SLN/TLN disease, cALND does not provide clinically meaningful information for post-NACT systemic treatment modifications and should not be encouraged for diagnostic purposes alone.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article numberznaf180
JournalBritish journal of surgery
Volume112
Issue number9
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 40966675

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

ASJC Scopus subject areas