Clinical trials for sentinel node biopsy in patients with breast cancer.

Sentinel-node biopsy (SNB) has already been applied in clinical practice. However, there are no long-term data regarding sentinel node (SN). Three critical questions about SNB can be posed as follows: "Is the predictive power of the axillary status using SNB the same as using ALND?", "Does SNB reduce complications of breast surgery?", and "What is the effect of SNB on long-term survival and on the local control of the axilla?". This article introduces clinical trial update consisting of a review of six major prospective studies. Each trial was designed to attempt to address these questions. With limited data from the trials, we should consider the advantages and faults of SNB based on the answers to the questions.