¹²⁵I seed placement before neoadjuvant chemotherapy good marking method for metastatic lymph nodes in BC

Key clinical point: Targeted axillary dissection (TAD) by marking the metastatic lymph node with ¹²⁵I seeds before neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) showed excellent identification rates and ruled out the need for remarking before surgery.

Major finding: The identification rates of the marked lymph node (MLN) and sentinel node (SN) were 99.3% and 91.5%, respectively, with the TAD procedure being successful in 91.5% of patients based on the identification of both MLN and SN. Overall, 40.8% of patients achieved axillary pathologic complete response and could be spared from surgery.

Study details: Findings are from a cohort study including 142 patients with BC who underwent TAD after ¹²⁵I seeds were placed before NACT.

Disclosures: This study was funded by Helsefonden. The authors did not report conflicts of interest.

Source: Munck F et al. Targeted axillary dissection with ¹²⁵I seed placement before neoadjuvant chemotherapy in a Danish multicenter cohort. Ann Surg Oncol. 2023 (Apr 16). Doi: 10.1245/s10434-023-13432-4