OBJECTIVES:
* Compare disease-free survival of women with clinically node-negative breast cancer with sentinel lymph node micrometastases treated with surgical resection with or without axillary dissection.
* Compare overall survival of patients treated with these regimens.
* Assess sites of recurrence, particularly reappearance of disease in the undissected axilla.
* Assess long-term surgical complications in patients treated with these regimens.
OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to participating center, menopausal status (pre- vs postmenopausal), and preoperative sentinel node biopsy (yes vs no). Patients are followed every 4 months for 1 year, every 6 months for 4 years, and then annually thereafter.
