Search

Introduction: After false-positive screening for breast cancer, women are still at risk of developing breast cancer. In this study the incidence of breast cancer in a group of women who had a false-positive outcome is compared with the expected breast cancer incidence., Methods: Follow-up data of 188 women (mean age 58 years) with a false-positive screening result were collected and analysed for breast cancer development. The mean length of follow-up in the study was 7.4 years. The occurrence of breast cancer was compared to the expected incidence of breast cancer in an age-matched control population using figures from the local cancer registration., Results: The occurrence of breast cancer in the study population (n=7) was not significantly different from the expected incidence of breast cancer in the age-matched control group (n=5)., Conclusion: There is no relationship between false-positive findings during breast cancer screening and later development of breast cancer. Patients who do not have an increased risk of developing breast cancer (due to family history) should not be followed-up clinically, but should be returned to the screening programme., (Copyright Harcourt Publishers Limited.)

Background: Orderly progression of nodal metastases has been described for melanoma and breast cancer. The first draining lymph node, the sentinel node, is also the first to contain metastases and accurately predicts nodal status. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of lymphatic mapping and sentinel node biopsy in colorectal cancer., Methods: In 50 patients with colorectal cancer patent blue dye was injected around the tumour. After resection of the tumour the specimen was examined to identify blue-stained lymph nodes. Routine histopathological examination was performed on all nodes and the blue, haematoxylin and eosin-stained tumour-negative nodes were tested immunohistochemically., Results: Lymphatic mapping was possible in 35 of 50 patients (70 per cent). Pathological examination with haematoxylin and eosin staining showed lymph node metastases in 20 of 35 patients. In eight of these 20 patients the blue nodes showed tumour, while in 12 the blue nodes were not involved. This represents a false-negative rate of 60 per cent., Conclusion: Lymphatic mapping using patent blue dye is feasible in colorectal cancer. The blue-stained nodes do not predict nodal status of the remaining lymph nodes in the resected specimen. The concept of lymphatic mapping and sentinel node identification is not valid for colorectal cancer.

The article examines the axillary recurrence rate and false-negative rate of axillary sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy. A prospective registry of SLNB procedures for breast cancer from 592 breast cancer patients performed between 1998 and 2004 was examined. Results revealed the axillary recurrence rate to be 2.8 per cent after a median follow-up of over five years. The authors concluded that axillary recurrence and false-negative after SLNB increase with longer follow-up.