Clinical application of contrast-enhanced ultrasound combined with modified labeled method in locating sentinel lymph nodes of breast cancer

Objective To explore the clinical value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound combined with modified labeled method in labeling sentinel lymph nodes of breast cancer in comparison with nano-carbon stained method. Methods Eighty female breast cancer patients who underwent surgery in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University between July 2017 and April 2019 were enrolled. Sentinel lymph nodes in all patients were labeled by contrast-enhanced ultrasound combined with modified labeled method and nano-carbon stained method, respectively. The consistency of first lymph node labeled by the two methods was judged, the number of SLNs labeled by two methods was counted, and the pathology of the labeled SLN was compared with that after axillary dissection. Results The two methods have good consistency in locating sentinel lymph nodes of breast cancer(Kappa=0.749, P=0.000). The number of SLNs labeled by modified labeling method was significantly less than that labeled by stained method(Z=-7.434, P=0.000). The pathology of lymph nodes labeled by both the modified labeling method and stained method coincided well with that of axillary dissection(Kappa=0.941, 0.943; P=0.000, 0.000), and diagnostic efficiency was comparable(AUC=0.964, 0.967). Conclusions Contrast-enhanced ultrasound combined with modified labeling method is simple and accurate in labeling sentinel lymph nodes of breast cancer. Accurate assessment of axillary lymph node staging can be made by precise biopsy of 1-2 SLNs. Key words: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound; Breast neoplasms; Sentinel lymph node; Biopsy