The relative false negative rate of isosulfan blue in detecting sentinel lymph nodes in early breast cancer

Objective: To determine the false negative rate of the isosulfan blue injection method of SLN detection in early breast cancer, relative to that of the combined blue dye and radiocolloid injection method. Material and Method: Seventy women with early breast cancer underwent the combined method of SLN detection during the period between September 2007 and December 2008. Standard criteria for each method were used to identify SLNs. Each SLN was labeled as identified by the blue dye, the radiocolloid and as being positive or negative for cancer cells. Results: Subjects were 50 years old with tumors of size 2.3 cm on the average. The average number of SLNs harvested was 2.5 nodes per subject. The detection rate for the isosulfan blue method was 91% (64/70). The relative false negative rate of the blue dye was zero (0/64). Conclusion: Experienced surgeons who use the isosulfan blue method of SLN detection in early breast cancer can be reasonably confident that the false negative rate of the isosulfan blue method was similar to that of the combined method.