Surgery to Remove the Sentinel Lymph Node and Axillary Lymph Nodes After Chemotherapy in Treating Women With Stage II, Stage IIIA, or Stage IIIB Breast Cancer

Eligibility Criteria:

   1. ≥ 18 years old

   2. ECOG/Zubrod Performance Status 0-1

   3. Female. Note: Men are excluded from this study because the number of men with breast
   cancer is insufficient to provide a statistical basis for assessment of effects in
   this subpopulation of people with breast cancer.

   4. Histologic diagnosis of invasive breast cancer, clinical stage T0-4 N1-2 M0 (excluding
   inflammatory breast cancer).

   5. FNA biopsy or core needle biopsy of an axillary node documenting nodal disease at time
   of diagnosis and prior to preoperative chemotherapy.

   6. Preoperative chemotherapy must be completed or planned for patient. NOTE: Patients
   enrolling on studies involving preoperative chemotherapy (through cooperative groups
   or institutional studies) may be eligible for this study, provided sentinel node
   surgery prior to preoperative chemotherapy was not required in the other studies.

   7. No prior ipsilateral axillary surgery, such as excisional biopsy of lymph node(s) or
   treatment of hidradenitis.

   8. No prior SLN surgery/excisional lymph node biopsy for pathological confirmation of
   axillary status.