Trends in Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsies in Patients With Inflammatory Breast Cancer in the US

Abstract

IMPORTANCEThe standard of care for inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is neoadjuvant chemotherapy, total mastectomy with axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), and postmastectomy radiation therapy. Existing studies suggest that sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) may not be reliable in IBC. The use and frequency of SLNB in women with IBC is not well characterized. OBJECTIVE To determine the frequency and temporal trend of SLNB in patients with IBC. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThis retrospective cohort study used the National Cancer Database, a nationwide hospital-based cancer registry, and included women who were diagnosed