Abandoning sentinel lymph node biopsy in early breast cancer? A new trial in progress at the European Institute of Oncology of Milan (SOUND: Sentinel node vs Observation after axillary UltraSouND)

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is the standard approach for axillary staging in patients with early breast cancer. Recent data showed no outcome difference in patients with positive sentinel node between axillary dissection vs no further axillary surgery, raising doubts on the role of SLNB itself. Therefore, a new trial was designed comparing SLNB vs observation when axillary ultra-sound is negative in patients with small breast cancer candidates to breast conserving surgery. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.