Radiation therapy as an adjuvant treatment after sentinel lymph node surgery for breast cancer.

Radiation therapy is an effective treatment of micrometastatic disease involving lymph nodes. Correspondingly, radiation may be an important adjuvant treatment for selected patients who undergo sentinel lymph node surgery. The specific cohorts for whom radiation maybe of benefit include those at risk for a false-negative surgery, patients with a positive sentinel lymph node who elect to forgo an axillary dissection, and patients with drainage to the internal mammary lymph nodes. For these patients, radiation treatment fields must be specifically designed to include the appropriate nodal regions within the target treatment volumes.