Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30312200›Full record

SynthesisAnnals of surgery2019

Diagnostic Accuracy of Different Surgical Procedures for Axillary Staging After Neoadjuvant Systemic Therapy in Node-positive Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Janine M Simons, Thiemo J A van Nijnatten, Carmen C van der Pol, Ernest J T Luiten, Linetta B Koppert, Marjolein L Smidt

Open access · hybridAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Annals of surgery, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 96 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
96citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
5.0field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

96 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 186 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. SEOM-GEICAM-SOLTI clinical guidelines for early-stage breast cancer (UPDATE 2025).Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026
    Guideline
  3. Pooled it
  4. SEOM-GEICAM-SOLTI clinical guidelines for early-stage breast cancer (2022).Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2023
    Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Guideline
  7. Pooled it
  8. Pooled it
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Nuclear medicine in the operating room: present and future.The British journal of radiology · 2026
    Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Impact of axillary disease extent defined by baselineBreast (Edinburgh, Scotland) · 2026
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

36 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Janine M SimonsErasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Surgical Oncology, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Thiemo J A van NijnattenMaastricht University Medical Center+, Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Carmen C van der PolAlrijne Hospital, Surgical Oncology, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Ernest J T LuitenAmphia Hospital, Surgical Oncology, Breda, the Netherlands.
Linetta B KoppertErasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Surgical Oncology, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Marjolein L SmidtMaastricht University Medical Center+, Surgical Oncology, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Maastricht University · NLAlrijne Ziekenhuis · NLAmphia Ziekenhuis · NLUniversity Medical Center Utrecht · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the accuracy of different surgical axillary staging procedures compared with ALND. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Optimal axillary staging after neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST) in node-positive breast cancer is an area of controversy. Several less invasive procedures, such as sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), marking axillary lymph node with radioactive iodine seed (MARI), and targeted axillary dissection (a combination of SLNB and a MARI-like procedure), have been proposed to replace the conventional axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) with its concomitant morbidity.

methodsPubMed and Embase were searched for studies comparing less invasive surgical axillary staging procedures to ALND to identify axillary burden after NST in patients with pathologically confirmed node-positive breast cancer (cN+). A meta-analysis was performed to compare identification rate (IFR), false-negative rate (FNR), and negative predictive value (NPV).

resultsOf 1132 records, 20 unique studies with 2217 patients were included in quantitative analysis: 17 studies on SLNB, 1 study on MARI, and 2 studies on a combination procedure. Overall axillary pathologic complete response rate was 37%. For SLNB, pooled rates of IFR and FNR were 89% and 17%. NPV ranged from 57% to 86%. For MARI, IFR was 97%, FNR 7%, and NPV 83%. For the combination procedure, IFR was 100%, FNR ranged from 2% to 4%, and NPV from 92% to 97%.

conclusionAxillary staging by a combination procedure consisting of SLNB with excision of a pre-NST marked positive lymph node appears to be most accurate for axillary staging after NST. More evidence from prospective multicenter trials is needed to confirm this.

Indexed as

Neoadjuvant TherapyAxillaBreast NeoplasmsFemaleHumansLymphatic MetastasisLymph Node ExcisionLymph NodesMinimally Invasive Surgical ProceduresNeoplasm Staging

Identifiers

PMID30312200
PMCPMC6369968
OpenAlexW2895925444

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.