Assessing the effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on lymphatic pathways to sentinel lymph nodes in cases of breast cancer: Usefulness of the indocyanine green-fluorescence method

Backgrounds It is not clear how lymphatic pathways to the sentinel lymph node (SLN) change during neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for breast cancer. Methods Using the indocyanine green (ICG)-fluorescence method, we compared lymphatic pathways to the SLN (sentinel lymphatic pathways) and SLN location before and after NAC in 36 patients (38 breasts). Results Despite that 42.8% of the sentinel lymphatic pathways were changed by NAC, the locations of the SLNs were not affected by NAC. Conclusion These results suggest that the true SLN can be detected even after NAC, and that SLNB can be performed after NAC for clinically node-negative patients.