Preoperative contrast-enhanced ultrasound combined with intra-lymph node methylene blue injection for sentinel lymph node identification: a minimally invasive sentinel lymph node biopsy tracing approach

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at Methylene blue (non-peptide stack partner).

Areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the ability of CEUS to diagnose SLN metastasis.

Why It Was Studied

Question Despite the critical role of sentinel lymph node (SLN) detection in surgical outcomes, current preoperative imaging-guided SLN tracing remains in the exploratory stage.

Clinical relevance Preoperative SLN-CEUS, combined with intralymphatic methylene blue injection and intracutaneous indocyanine green administration during surgery, enables precise SLN identification and metastasis prediction.

Who Took Part

The age groups tagged for this paper are adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, women only.

All patients from a single institution were prospectively randomized into two groups: CEUS Group (preoperative SLN-CEUS coupled with injections of MB into the lymph nodes, with ICG intracutaneous injections for SLN identification during surgery) and Blue Staining Group (intracutaneous injections of both ICG and MB for SLN mapping during surgery).

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized study.

The participants were allocated by chance, so the Methylene blue (non-peptide stack partner) group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Pathological results served as the gold standard.

Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors for SLN metastasis.

What Was Measured

Question Despite the critical role of sentinel lymph node (SLN) detection in surgical outcomes, current preoperative imaging-guided SLN tracing remains in the exploratory stage.

The subject headings attached to it are Methylene Blue, Contrast Media, Breast Neoplasms, Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy, Sentinel Lymph Node, Lymphatic Metastasis and Preoperative Care.

Author keywords: Breast cancer, Contrast agent and Ultrasonography.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized study of Methylene blue (non-peptide stack partner).

Results are reported in around 7 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2026 (European radiology), a journal based in Germany.

More context: the Methylene blue (non-peptide stack partner) compound page, all human trials.