Safe and transparent introduction and evaluation of targeted axillary dissection in patients with node-positive breast cancer undergoing primary surgery: international consensus process.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Axillary node clearance is the current standard of care in patients with node-positive breast cancer undergoing primary surgery, despite a lack of evidence to demonstrate survival benefit and high rates of life-changing morbidity. Targeted axillary dissection (TAD) may be a safe alternative to axillary node clearance, but there is no agreement how primary TAD should be performed. TADPOLE-TOGETHER aimed to use international consensus methods to agree the key components of primary TAD to promote standardized introduction and evaluation of the technique within the TADPOLE trial.

Methods

A scoping review and key stakeholder interviews were used to generate a longlist of possible procedure steps for inclusion in the Delphi questionnaire. Two rounds of an international

SUBMITTER: Potter S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12574671 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature