Figure 1. Diagram of diagnosis, surgical management and pathologic diagnosis of the axillary LNs in 152 patients with breast cancer.

Note: patient numbers are in parentheses ALND: axillary lymph node dissection. ^*: ALND performed due to metastatic results on preoperative US-FNAB cytology, All 4 patients had received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and final pathology showed micrometastatic foci within the lymph nodes.