A Comparative study between preoperative axillary lymph node status with postoperative histopathological diagnosis in operable cases of breast cancer

Breast cancer is one of the commonest cancers among the female population in India. It has a varied spectrum spectrum of presentation and when detected early, a curative surgery can be offered to the patient. The most important prognostic factor determining the local recurrence is the axillary lymph node status. Management of axilla in Brest cancer has evolved from a radical approach to more conservative approaches like Sentinel lymph node biopsy. This study encompasses patients diagnosed with early Breast cancer upto Stage IIb. All these patients were evaluated preoperatively with Clinical examination, Sonomammogram and subjected to Modified Radical Mastectomy with Adjuvant Chemotherapy. Preoperative axillary lymph node status were compared with the histopathological staging and the sensitivity and specificity of Clinical Breast examination and Sonomammogram were calculated and the latter was found to be superior. A specific subset of population with distinct characteristics in which no pathological axillary node metastasis was detected was defined. Thus a subgroup ideal for a conservative approach to axilla was identified and defined in this study