Oncologic Safety of One-Stage Implant-Based Breast Reconstruction in Breast Cancer Patients With Positive Sentinel Lymph Nodes: A Single-Center Retrospective Study Using Propensity Score Matching.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the oncologic safety of one-stage implant-based breast reconstruction (OIBR) following mastectomy in breast cancer patients with positive sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs).

METHODS

We collected clinical and pathological data from breast cancer patients with positive SLNs who underwent OIBR or not after mastectomy between January 2015 and December 2018. A total of 194 patients were included, with 130 patients undergoing mastectomy alone (MA) and 64 patients receiving OIBR after mastectomy. The clinical and pathological features, as well as the postoperative oncologic outcomes, of the 2 groups were retrospectively analyzed. Propensity score matching (PSM) was employed to mitigate the effects of data bias and confounding factors.

RESULTS

The median follow-up time was 66 months for the OIBR group and 64 months for the MA group after PSM. The majority of reconstructive surgeries use an approach of prosthetic implantation (52.0%). This is followed by prosthetic implantation combined with a latissimus dorsi (LD) flap (32.0%), and acellular dermal matrix (ADM)-assisted implant placement (16.0%). During the follow-up period, a local recurrence was observed in 1 case, regional recurrence in 3 cases, and distant metastasis leading to death in 3 cases among the OIBR group patients. No significant difference was found between the OIBR and MA groups in disease-free survival (DFS) (P = .66), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) (P = .91), locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS) (P = .44), and overall survival (OS) (P = .57).

CONCLUSION

OIBR is a safe option for breast cancer patients with positive SLNs and does not negatively impact cancer recurrence or overall survival.