Low-Volume Metastases in Cervical Cancer: Does Size Matter?

Abstract

The implementation of sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is changing the scenario in the surgical treatment of early-stage cervical cancer, and the oncologic safety of replacing bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy with SLN biopsy is currently under investigation. Part of the undisputed value of SLN biopsy is its diagnostic accuracy in detecting low-volume metastases (LVM) via pathologic ultrastaging. In early-stage cervical cancer, the reported incidence of LVM ranges from 4 to 20%. The prognostic impact and the role of adjuvant treatment in patients with LVM is still unclear. Some non-prespecified analyses in prospective studies showed no impact on the oncologic outcomes compared to node-negative disease. However, the heterogeneity of the studies, the differences in the disease stage and the use of adjuvant treatment, and the concomitant pelvic lymphadenectomy (PLND) make reaching any conclusions on this topic hard. Current guidelines suggest considering micrometastases (MIC) as a node-positive disease, while considering isolated tumor cells (ITC) as a node-negative disease with a low level of evidence. This review aims to highlight the unanswered questions about the definition, identification, and prognostic and therapeutic roles of LVM and to underline the present and future challenges we are facing. We hope that this review will guide further research, giving robust evidence on LVM and their impacts on clinical practice.