Sentinel lymph node identification using a magnetic tracer for endometrial cancer: A pilot study.

Abstract

e16550 Background: Traditional techniques of sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping for endometrial cancer present challenges. The magnetic technique does not use radiation and provides both a color change (brown dye) and a handheld probe for node localization. We performed a pilot study to identify pelvic and para-aortic sentinel lymph nodes with magnetic tracer after cervical injection. Methods: Twelve subjects with early stage endometrial cancer who were scheduled for pelvic lymphadenectomy were prospectively enrolled for SLN mapping. Magnetic tracer (Sienna+) was injected into the cervical stroma at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock Data was collected for the number of nodes identified, the location of SLN's, the duration of procedure and the pathology characteristics of the SLN's compared to the non-sentinel lymph nodes. Results: Twelve subjects received cervical injection with at least one SLN observed in all cases. Total number of 31 SLN was identified. All the subjects who received Sienna+ injections mapped a SLN for an observed detection rate of 100%. A median of 2.58 SLN's was identified per patient. None of patients had lymphatic metastases. No adverse events were identified. Conclusions: An injection of magnetic tracer identified a SLN in 10 % of patients. Therefore magnetic imaging is a feasible, safe, time efficient and reliable method for lymphatic mapping in early stage endometrial cancer.