Value of sonomammography utilizing color Doppler technique in qualification of breast cancer patients for sentinel node identification

Background: Sentinel node identification has become a standard procedure in the management of breast cancer. This procedure requires involvement of a multidisciplinary team and is rather costly. Ultrasonography (USG) of axillary lymph nodes is a method that gives hope for improving the quality of qualification of patients for the procedure. Material/Methods: Eighty patients with grade I and II breast cancers underwent sentinel node identification followed by axillary lymphadenectomy. Pre-operative ultrasonography was employed to assess axillary lymph nodes, using the morphological and vascular characteristics as predictors of the presence of lymph node metastases. Results: Sensitivity of sentinel node identification reached 89.3%, specificity - 100%, positive predictive value - 100%, negative predictive value - 93.5%, percentage of false negative results - 10.7%. Sensitivity of USG reached 68.75 %, and specificity - 70.31%. In the group of patients in whom the sentinel node was identified, the sensitivity of the method was 69.23 %, and specificity - 72.41%. Conclusions: Preoperative axillary lymph node ultrasonography in breast cancer patients, utilizing color Doppler technique, allows better selection of patients for sentinel node identification procedure.