Use of indocyanine green for detecting sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer: letter to the editor

Abstract

Abstract In a previous issue of the journal, Oldřich Coufal and Vuk Fait reported a pilot study that specifically addressed the use of indocyanine green for detecting sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer within a European population. They concluded that fluorescence method cannot currently be considered a method fully comparable with using radioisotopes in this setting. We consider that the absence of a learning curve, the low mean of retrieved sentinel nodes, and the possibility that migration of indocyanine green occurred after the initial biopsy limit the strength of their conclusion.

Keywords

• Breast cancer
• Sentinel node
• Indocyanine green