Over the years, the management of early breast cancer has evolved by leaps and bounds, as has the concept of axillary staging and armpit surgical management. Five randomised studies exist that evaluate the possibility of omitting regional locus surgical axillary treatment in patients with early breast cancer and positive sentinel lymph nodes without it having an impact on the prognosis of the disease in selected cases. A review of the literature on the management of the axilla in early breast cancer is presented.
Keywords: breast cancer; positive sentinel lymph node; radical axillary dissection.
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