Obesity and SLNB

Axillary staging remains the cornerstone of breast cancer prognosis, dictating the necessity of adjuvant chemotherapy and regional radiotherapy. While Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (SLNB) is the gold standard for clinically node-negative (cN0) patients, a significant clinical challenge persists: a non-negligible proportion of these patients harbor occult metastases that are only identified postoperatively. This phenomenon of axillary upstaging (cN0 to pN1) leads to initial understaging and potential prognostic risks. Despite the global surge in obesity, the specific role of Body Mass Index (BMI) as a predictor of occult lymph node involvement remains inconsistently defined and underexplored. Our research addresses this gap by investigating how host-related factors influence the accuracy of traditional surgical staging.