Which Patients Need an Axillary Clearance after Sentinel Node Biopsy?

Table 1

Recommendations of SLNB, ALND, and treatment after SLNB.

SLNB	ALND	Post-SLNB
T1, T2 tumour	T3, T4 tumours	SLNB +ve	ALND
Multicentric tumour	Inflammatory carcinoma	SLNB −ve	Observe
DCIS for mastectomy	Suspicious axillary node	Micromets	ALND
DCIS > 5 cm	Pregnancy	ITC	Observe
Older patient	Prior axillary surgery	SLNB +ve, 1-2 nodes, T1, T2	Observe*
Preneoadjuvant

DCIS: ductal carcinoma-in-situ; SNB: sentinel lymph node biopsy; ALND: axillary lymph node dissection.
*Recommendation of the German guidelines.