Educating patients on sentinel lymph node dissection for breast cancer

PURPOSE: This article reviews the current literature on lymphatic mapping a nd sentinel lymph node dissection (SLND) for breast cancer and presents edu cational information for patients who are considering undergoing tills proc edure. OVERVIEW: Lymphatic mapping with SLND has been tested widely in patients wi th breast cancer, primarily in the context of clinical trials. Research stu dies have found a high degree of accuracy with the sentinel lymph node (SLN ) predicting the status of the axillary node basin. The ability of the surg eon to identify the SLN and the accuracy of the technique correlate with th e number of proce dures conducted. With the increase in the number of patie nts having lymphatic mapping and SLND for breast cancer who may not be part of a clinical trial, there is a need for educational materials to help cli nicians teach patients about the procedure. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Because of die complexity of the information, patien ts need both written and verbal information to decide whether to undergo an SLND. In the setting of a clinical trial, patient education materials add to the informed consent document. As the use of SLND for breast cancer beco mes more common, the need for clear, concise, informative patient education materials is even more imperative.