Objective To systematically review the diagnostic value of ultrasound for breast cancer with axillary sentinel lymph nodes, so as to provide evidence for clinical decision-making. Methods We searched the databases including PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library (Issue 12, 2013), CBM, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP for studies about ultrasound in the diagnosis of breast cancer with axillary sentinel lymph nodes till December 31^st, 2013. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, literature was screened, data were extracted, and methodological quality of the included studies was evaluated. Meta-analysis was then conducted using Meta-Disc 1.4 software. Results A total of 12 studies involving 2 188 cases were included. The pooled results of meta-analysis showed that sensitivity and specificity were 0.75 (95%CI 0.72 to 0.77) and 0.91 (95%CI 0.89 to 0.92), respectively; positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio were 6.54 (95%CI 4.68 to 8.89) and 0.22 (95%CI 0.15 to 0.33), respectively; diagnostic odds ratio was 33.59 (95%CI 17.87 to 63.12); and the AUC was 0.934 3. Conclusion Ultrasound is has relatively high value in diagnosis of breast cancer with axillary sentinel lymph nodes. However, due to the influence caused by the limited quality and various potential heterogeneity, more high quality RCTs with large sample size are needed to further verify the above conclusion.

Citation： ZHAOYu-ling, WANGYan. Value of Ultrasound in Diagnosis of Breast Cancer with Axillary Sentinel Lymph Nodes: A Meta-Analysis. Chinese Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, 2014, 14(9): 1077-1082. doi: 10.7507/1672-2531.20140176 Copy