Table 1.
Characteristic of eligible studies in the meta-analysis
| Author | Year | Country | No. of patients | Nature | Stage | Lymphatic mapping technique | Positivity rate (%) | IMN+ | IMN- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AXN+ n (%) |
AXN− n (%) |
AXN+ n (%) |
AXN− n (%) |
||||||||
| Avisar [12] | 2008 | American | 31 | Prospective | T1-3 N0 | Gamma probe or blue dye or LS | 25 | 5 (17.86) | 2 (7.14) | 5 (17.86) | 16 (27.59) |
| Bourre [13] | 2009 | France | 161 | Petrospective | T1 N0 | Gamma probe and blue dye and LS | 11 | 11 (6.83) | 7 (4.34) | 7 (4.34) | 135 (86.25) |
| Carcoforo [14] | 2006 | Italy | 65 | Retrospective | N0 | Gamma probe and blue dye and LS | 15.40 | 3 (10.34) | 1 (3.45) | 4 (13.79) | 21 (72.41) |
| Caudle [8] | 2014 | American | 71 | Retrospective | N0 | Gamma probe and blue dye and LS | 15 | 4 (5.63) | 7 (9.86) | 12 (16.90) | 48 (67.61) |
| Cong [15] | 2016 | China | 145 | Prospective | I-IV | Gamma probe and LS and fluorescence | 12.40 | 11 (7.01) | 8 (5.10) | 59 (37.58) | 79 (50.32) |
| Galimberti [16] | 2002 | Italy | 160 | Retrospective | I-IV | LS | 8.80 | 10 (6.25) | 4 (2.50) | 45 (28.13) | 101 (63.13) |
| Generich [9] | 2014 | American | 122 | Retrospective | Tis-T2 N0 | Gamma probe and LS | 10 | 10 (9.26) | 2 (1.85) | 20 (18.52) | 76 (70.37) |
| He [17] | 2010 | China | 94 | Retrospective | T1-2 N0 | Gamma probe and LS and carbon nanoparticles | 24 | 19 (20.21) | 4 (4.26) | 10 (10.64) | 61 (64.89) |
| Heuts [18] | 2009 | Netherlands | 139 | Retrospective | cN0 | Gamma probe and blue dye and LS | 22 | 22 (15.83) | 9 (6.47) | 43 (30.94) | 65 (46.76) |
| Lee [19] | 2013 | Korea | 31 | Retrospective | cN0 | NR | 20.00 | 1 (10.00) | 1 (10.00) | 0 (0.00) | 8 (80.00) |
| Leidenius [20] | 2006 | Finland | 122 | Retrospective | T1-2 N0 | Gamma probe and LS | 15 | 10 (7.25) | 8 (5.80) | 28 (20.29) | 92 (66.67) |
| Mansel [21] | 2004 | UK | 31 | RCT | cN0 | Gamma probe and LS | 13 | 2 (6.45) | 2 (6.45) | 15 (48.39) | 12 (38.71) |
| Maraz [22] | 2014 | Hungary | 77 | Retrospective | T1-3 N0 | Blue dye and LS | 18 | 2 (2.60) | 12 (15.58) | 14 (18.18) | 49 (63.64) |
| Ozmen [23] | 2015 | Turkey | 72 | Retrospective | cN0 | LS | 14 | 9 (12.50) | 1 (1.39) | 24 (33.33) | 38 (52.78) |
| Piato [24] | 2016 | Brazil | 20 | Prospective | I-II | LS and PET-CT | 21 | 2 (10.53) | 2 (10.53) | 1 (5.26) | 14 (73.68) |
| Postma [25] | 2012 | Netherlands | 86 | Retrospective | T1-2 N0 | Gamma probe and blue dye and LS | 16.00 | 7 (8.14) | 7 (8.14) | 25 (29.07) | 47 (54.65) |
| Qi [26] | 2018 | China | 337 | Retrospective | M0 | NR | 18.70 | 62 (18.40) | 1 (0.30) | 132 (39.17) | 142 (42.14) |
| Veronesi [27] | 2008 | Italy | 663 | Retrospective | I-IV | Gamma probe and LS | 10.30 | 51 (7.69) | 17 (2.56) | 182 (27.45) | 413 (62.29) |
AXN axillary lymph nodes, IMN internal mammary lymph node, LS lymphoscintigraphy, M0 no presence of distant metastasis, N0 no presence of lymphatic involvement, NR not reported, PET-CT positron emission tomography–computed tomography, RCT randomized clinical trial, Tis carcinoma in situ, n number of patients, + positive, presence of lymph node metastasis, − negative, no presence of lymph node metastasis