Abstract
Operative treatment of the axillae is an essential component in the treatment of breast cancer. During the course of the past century axillary lymphadenectomy was initially carried out continuously more extensively as a therapeutic intervention in order to achieve higher rates of curing. As this hope was not realized and even ultraradical axillary interventions could not prevent the occurrence of ...
Abstract
Operative treatment of the axillae is an essential component in the treatment of breast cancer. During the course of the past century axillary lymphadenectomy was initially carried out continuously more extensively as a therapeutic intervention in order to achieve higher rates of curing. As this hope was not realized and even ultraradical axillary interventions could not prevent the occurrence of distant metastases, the radicality of this operation clearly decreased from the 1990s onwards so that its importance nowadays is mostly of a diagnostic nature. Palpation and sonography are the standards for preoperative diagnostics of the axillae. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SNLB) has developed into the standard method for a clinically negative lymph node status. The morbidity of SLNB is significantly reduced in comparison to axillary dissection. In which situations axillary lymphadenectomy can be completely dispensed with, is currently the objective of running clinical studies.
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