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BackgroundTo stage axillary lymph nodes in women with early-stage breast cancer, sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), rather than axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), has been employed. Moreover, different tracer methods have various advantages and disadvantages. In recent years, carbon nanoparticle suspensions (CNSs) have been used as lymph node tracers during surgeries for thyroid cancer, gastric cancer, and colorectal cancer. The study retrospectively analyzed the feasibility and accuracy of CNS for sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping in patients with early breast cancer.MethodsThis single-center, retrospective study included breast cancer patients who underwent SLNB from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2017, in the Department of Breast Cancer, Guangdong General Hospital. All patients received standard SLNB surgery using a CNS tracer.ResultsA total of 332 cases were included in this study. The SLN identification rate was 99.1% (329/332), and the mean number of SLNs was 2.6 (range, 1–6). SLN metastasis was found in 62 (18.8%) cases, of which 90.3% were found to be macrometastases. The sensitivity of SLNB was 95.9% (47/49), with a specificity of 100% (42/42), a positive predictive value of 100% (47/47), a negative predictive value of 95.5% (42/44), and a false-negative rate of 4.1% (2/49).ConclusionThe identification and predictive values of a CNS tracer for SLNB were satisfactory.

PurposeThe use of oncoplastic reconstruction for breast-conserving surgery (BCS) extends benefits beyond merely minimizing poor cosmetic results. However, the feasibility and oncological safety of oncoplastic surgery (OPS) are controversial.MethodsThis meta-analysis aimed to compare the short-term and long-term oncological outcomes of BCS alone and BCS plus OPS. Relevant studies published before July 2017 in the Embase, the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Web of Science databases were screened and collected. The meta-analysis was performed using STATA software (Stata Corp.).ResultsA total of 3,789 patients from 11 studies were included, with 2,691 patients in the BCS-alone group and 1,098 patients in the BCS plus OPS group. The demographics were similar between both groups, and no significant difference was observed in pathological T and N stages between the two groups. Re-excision was less common (relative risk [RR], 0.66; p=0.009) and the positive-margin rate was lower, but not significantly (RR, 0.83; p=0.191), in the BCS plus OPS group than in the BCS-alone group. The local and distal recurrence rates were similar in both groups. Both disease-free survival (hazard ratio [HR], 1.19; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.96–1.49; p=0.112) and overall survival (HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.76–1.69; p=0.527) did not differ between the two groups.ConclusionA combination of BCS and OPS is preferred over BCS alone for decreasing re-excisions and provides similar long-term survival as BCS alone in patients with breast cancer.