Impact of axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) omission in 2009 patients with breast cancer, micrometastases (Mic) or isolated tumour cells (ITCs) in sentinel node was analysed.
Patients with ALND were matched to patients with and without ALND for Mic and ITC subgroups.
The increased risk of death and recurrence with ALND omission was found in the Mic cohort (respectively, hazard ratio 2.88 and 1.56).
The non-inferiority of axillary lymph node dissection omission in breast cancer with sentinel node micrometastases is not demonstrated.