Surgery · Breast (Benign, Carcinoma Breast, Staging, Treatment)

A 48-year-old woman with a T2N1M0 (Stage IIA) ER-positive, HER2-negative invasive ductal carcinoma undergoes neoadjuvant chemotherapy and achieves a pathological complete response (pCR). Which scoring system is used intraoperatively to assess sentinel lymph node status and determines eligibility for axillary lymph node dissection avoidance?

  • A Nottingham Grading System
  • B Sentinel node one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) assay
  • C Van Nuys Prognostic Index
  • D Oncotype DX recurrence score
Correct answer: B. Sentinel node one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) assay

Explanation

The OSNA (One-Step Nucleic Acid Amplification) assay detects CK19 mRNA in sentinel lymph node homogenates intraoperatively within 30–40 minutes, allowing real-time decision-making on axillary dissection. Nottingham grades invasive carcinoma histologically; Van Nuys is used for DCIS; Oncotype DX is a postoperative genomic test guiding adjuvant chemotherapy decisions for ER+ HER2− early breast cancer.

Reference: Bailey & Love's Short Practice of Surgery, 27th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.

Sponsored

Want to test yourself?

Create a free account for timed mock tests, mistake tracking, and FSRS spaced-repetition revision across 23,000+ MCQs.

Start free → Log in

More Breast (Benign, Carcinoma Breast, Staging, Treatment) MCQs

See all Breast (Benign, Carcinoma Breast, Staging, Treatment) MCQs →