Systematic Pelvic Lymphadenectomy Research Articles

Necessity of systematic pelvic lymphadenectomy for early-stage cervical cancer

Necessity of systematic pelvic lymphadenectomy for early-stage cervical cancer

Mapping sentinel lymph nodes in early-stage ovarian cancer (MELISA) trial - a further step towards lymphadenectomy replacement

ObjectiveSistematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy is part of the staging surgery for early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer, with no therapeutic value. The Mapping Sentinel Lymph Nodes In Early-Stage Ovarian Cancer (MELISA) trial prospectively assessed the SLN detection rate and the diagnostic accuracy of the SLN mapping technique in patients with early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer. MethodsThis prospective, single-arm study included patients diagnosed with early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer (FIGO stages I and II), via either primary surgery or re-staging surgery. SLN mapping was performed by injecting 0.2 mL of 37-mBq 99mTc-nanocoloid albumin and 2 mL of 2.5 mg/mL indocyanine green into the infundibulopelvic and utero-ovarian ligaments. After removal of SLNs, a complete systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy was performed. SLN Ultrastaging analysis was applied. The primary outcome was the overall SLN detection rate, either with one or both tracers. Secondary outcomes were the diagnostic accuracy of detecting lymph node metastases and factors that may influence SLN detection. ResultsThirty patients were included. SLNs were identified in 27 patients (90%). Detection rates in primary and re-staging surgery were 89% and 92%, respectively. Para-aortic drainage was the predominant lymphatic spread, observed in 26 of 27 patients. Ultrastaging pathologic reports listed 1 SLN with macrometastasis, 1 with micrometastasis, and 5 with isolated tumor cells; the sensitivity of SLN mapping was 100%, with a false-negative rate of 0%. Univariate analysis showed a nonsignificant higher proportion of patients with uterine fibroids, adenomyosis, and endometriosis (100%, 67%, 67%, respectively) in patients in whom SLNs were not detected. ConclusionSLN mapping has a high detection rate (90%) and is an accurate technique for detecting lymph node involvement in early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer. SLN mapping is a potential alternative to systematic lymphadenectomy to reduce associated morbidity, but further research is needed to evaluate the impact of SLN mapping on oncologic outcomes and its cost-effectiveness.

Sentinel lymph node detection in early-stage ovarian cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundA systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy remains the surgical standard management of early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer. Sentinel lymph node mapping is being investigated as an alternative procedure; however, data reporting...

A Vascular Centered Surgical Approach to Radical Hysterectomy: Laparoscopic Anatomy of Pelvic Vascular System Revisited

As a standard therapy for locally invasive cervical cancer, radical hysterectomy (RH) has been in routine medical practice for more than a century [1]. However, challenges still exist due to the troublesome bleeding during parametrium dissection and resection, which could increase the risk of surgical complications and may probably affect surgical outcomes ultimately [2]. This video illustrated the three-dimensional anatomy of the pelvic vascular system with particular emphasis on "deep uterine vein" and further introduced a vascular-centered surgical approach to performing RH, which could facilitate parametrium dissection with less blood loss and obtain enough resection margins. A step-by-step, narrated video demonstration SETTING: A university hospital INTERVENTIONS: After systemic pelvic lymphadenectomy, ureter was then identified along the medial leaf of the broad ligament. By continuously exploring the pelvic cavity along the ureter, communicating branches of the uterine artery to the ureter, urinary bladder, corpus uteri, uterine cervix, and upper vagina were clearly identified in a cranial to caudal direction, demonstrating the arterial network surrounding the urinary system. Coagulating and cutting these blood vessels could free the ureter from retroperitoneum and subsequently excavate the ureteral tunnel easily. Next, a precise dissection of the area below the ureter revealed the whole distribution of currently named "deep uterine vein". Originated from an internal iliac vein, it is much more like a venous confluence than an accompanying vein, with branches crossing directly into the bladder, dorsally to the rectum, and traveling caudally to the anterolateral side of the uterus and vagina in a crisscross fashion, which mandates us to describe it as pampiniform-like venous plexus instead of "deep uterine vein" due to its anatomical distribution and function. Finally, after complete exposure of venous network, enough extent of parametrium could be adequately separated and resected by accurate coagulation of blood vessels on an individualized requirement. Recognizing the precise anatomy of pelvic vascular system, especially the entire distribution of currently named "deep uterine vein" and isolating the venous branches connecting to all three parts of parametrium, are key to the RH procedure. Careful attention to the complex vascular anatomy is critical to reducing intraoperative bleeding and avoiding complications in RH.

Anastomotic leakage following bowel resection in radical cytoreductive surgery for ovarian cancer: A subgroup analysis of the prospective AGO-OVAR.OP3/LION.

5566 Background: Anastomotic leakage (AL) is an important and severe complication following bowel resection in cytoreductive surgery (CRS) for ovarian cancer (OC). Identifying patients (pts) at risk for AL could improve clinical management and reduce frequency and severity of complications. Methods: AGO-OVAR.OP3/LION intraoperatively randomized 647 pts with advanced OC (FIGO IIB-IV) following complete cytoreduction with unsuspicious lymph nodes to either undergo systematic pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomy (LNE) or not. All pts who underwent bowel resection were included in this analysis. Potential prognostic impact of AL was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank tests regarding progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Risk factors for AL in a subset of clinicopathological parameters were evaluated by calculating odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) in univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. A stepwise variable selection algorithm using the Akaike Information Criteria (AIC) for identification of the final logistic regression model was applied. P values presented were two-tailed, and P<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Among all 647 randomized pts, AL was noted in 24 (3.7 %) pts. The AL rate of the 336 pts with bowel surgery during CRS (median age 61.3 years; 316 large bowel, 94 small bowel resections) was 7.1% (24/336 pts). Pts following stoma formation had an AL rate of 5.5% (3/55 pts) compared to 7.5% (21/281 pts) in pts without stoma. Median PFS was 18 months in pts with AL versus 19 months in the no-AL-group (hazard ratio (HR) 0.86; 95% CI 0.5 to 1.4, P=0.53), median OS was 31 months in the AL group and 58 months in the no-AL-group (HR 0.69; 95% CI 0.4 to 1.2, P=0.17). The clinicopathological characteristics “volume of blood loss” (OR 1.05 per 100cc; 95% CI 1.01-1.10) and “LNE vs non-LNE” (OR 4.10; 95% CI 1.60-12.62) were identified as factors potentially predictive for AL in univariate analysis, and both factors (volume of blood loss [OR 1.04 per 100cc, 95% CI 1.0001-1.09], LNE vs non-LNE [OR 3.67, 95% CI 1.41-11.39]) remained a significant independent factor in multivariate analysis. Conclusions: Considering the high surgical complexity in this large prospective surgical trial, the overall rate of AL following bowel surgery was relatively low and had no significant impact on PFS or OS. While protective stoma formation was not identified as protective factor in this cohort, volume of blood loss and LNE procedure were clinical parameters associated with higher risk of AL. Being potential surrogates for extensive surgery, these factors should be considered in perioperative management in pts with advanced OC. Further specific factors predicting AL were not identified. Clinical trial information: NCT00712218 .

Detection rate and diagnostic accuracy of sentinel-node biopsy in early stage ovarian cancer: A prospective multicentre study (SELLY).

e17579 Background: Comprehensive surgical staging of early epithelial ovarian cancer includes systematic paraaortic and bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy but its therapeutic role is controversial and it is associated with potential severe morbidity. The feasibility of sentinel lymph-node (SLN) identification in early stage ovarian cancer has been shown only. We did a prospective multicenter study to assess the feasibility, detection rate and diagnostic accuracy of the SLN procedure in predicting the pathological pelvic-node status in patients with early stage ovarian cancer. Methods: This is a phase II single arm study (EUDRACT 2019-001088-58) including patients with presumed stage I-II epithelial ovarian cancer planned for immediate or delayed minimally-invasive comprehensive staging. The ovarian pedicle is injected with 2 mL of a 1.25 mg/mL indocyanine green (ICG) solution. The pelvic and lumbo-aortic retroperitoneum is then accessed and inspected to identify and remove SLNs. Staging is then completed including systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy and an histopathological examination of all nodes is performed. The primary endpoint was estimation of the sensitivity and sensibility of SLN in predicting nodal status. Assuming a sensitivity of 98.5% in predicting positive sentinel lymph nodes at histology, a pathological lymph node prevalence of 14.2%, a precision of estimate (i.e. the maximum marginal error) d=5%, a type I error α = 0.05, a sample size of 141 patients is needed to test the general hypothesis (i.e. to answer whether SLN(s) identified with ICG can accurately predict nodal status at histology of patients with apparently early EOC). Assuming a drop-out rate of 20%, a total of 176 patients will be enrolled in the study. Results: One-hundred and seventy-six patients were included with a drop-out rate of 22%. Sentinel node was identified in 102 patients (detection rate, 58%, [95% CI: 51-65]). There were no clinical differences between patients with successful or unsuccessful mapping. Both the infundibolopelvic ligament and the legamentum ovarii proprium were injected in 29.0% of cases. Twenty-one patients had positive nodes and 71% of them showed successful mapping. Among the latter, a negative sentinel node was identified in 3 patients (Sensitivity 78.6% [95% CI: 57-100]; Specificity 100%; Accuracy 97% [95% CI: 94-100]; PPV 100%; NPV 96,6% [95% CI: 93-100]). Twenty-two (12.5%) intra- and 25 (14.2%) postoperative complications occurred (12 G1; 9 G2; 2 G3, 2 G4). Clinical trial information: EUCTR2019-001088-58 .

A Nomogram for Preoperative Prediction of the Risk of Lymph Node Metastasis in Patients with Epithelial Ovarian Cancer.

To develop a nomogram for predicting lymph node metastasis (LNM) in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Between December 2012 and August 2022, patients with EOC who received computed tomography (CT) and serological examinations and were treated with upfront staging or debulking surgery were included. Systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy was performed in all patients. Univariate and multivariate analysis was used to identify significant risk factors associated with LNM. A nomogram was then constructed to assess the risk of LNM, which was evaluated with respect to its area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), calibration, and clinical usefulness. Of 212 patients enrolled in this study, 78 (36.8%) had positive LNs. The nomogram integrating CT-reported LN status, child-bearing status, tumour laterality, and stage showed good calibration and discrimination with an AUC of 0.775, significantly improving performance over the CT results (0.699, p = 0.0002) with a net reclassification improvement of 0.593 (p < 0.001) and integrated discrimination improvement of 0.054 (p < 0.001). The decision curve analysis showed the nomogram was of clinical use. A nomogram was constructed and internally validated, which may act as a decision aid in patients with EOC being considered for systemic lymphadenectomy.

A prospective randomized multicenter trial for lymphadenectomy in early-stage ovarian cancer: LOVE study.

The Lymphadenectomy in Ovarian Neoplasms (LION) study revealed that systemic lymphadenectomy did not bring survival benefit for advanced ovarian cancer patients with clinically normal lymph nodes and was associated with a higher incidence of operative complications. However, there is no consensus on whether lymphadenectomy has survival benefit or not in early epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). We designed the LOVE study, a multicenter, randomized controlled, phase III trial to compare the efficacy and safety of comprehensive staging surgery with or without lymphadenectomy in stages IA-IIB EOC and fallopian tube carcinomas (FTC). The hypothesis is that the oncological outcomes provided by comprehensive staging surgery without lymphadenectomy are non-inferior to those of conventional completion staging surgery in early-stage EOC and FTC patients who have indications for post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy. Patients assigned to experimental group will undergo comprehensive staging surgery, but lymphadenectomy. Patients assigned to comparative group will undergo completion staging surgery including systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy. All subjects will receive 3-6 cycles of standard adjuvant chemotherapy. Major inclusion criteria are pathologic confirmed stage IA-IIB EOC or FTC, and patients have indications for adjuvant chemotherapy either confirmed by intraoperative fast frozen section or previous pathology after an incomplete staging surgery. Major exclusion criteria are non-epithelial tumors and low-grade serous carcinoma. Patients with severe rectum involvement which lead to partial rectum resection will be excluded. The sample size is 656 subjects. Primary endpoint is disease-free survival. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04710797.

Progression Free Survival, Overall Survival, and Relapse Rate in Endometrioid Ovarian Cancer and Synchronous Endometrial-Ovarian Endometrioid Cancer (SEO-EC): Results from a Large Retrospective Analysis.

Background and Objectives: We aimed to evaluate Progression Free Survival (PFS), Overall Survival (OS), and relapse rate in women affected by endometrioid ovarian cancer and synchronous endometrial-ovarian endometrioid cancer (SEO-EC). As secondary outcome, we assessed whether systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy could be considered a determinant of relapse rate in this population. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of women with diagnosis of endometrioid ovarian cancer or SEO-EC between January 2010 to September 2020, and calculated PFS, OS and relapse rate. Results: In almost all the patients (97.6%) who underwent systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy, there were no lymph node metastases confirmed by histology. We did not find a significant difference (p = 0.6570) for the rate of relapse in the group of women who underwent systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy (4/42; 9.5%) compared with the group of women who did not undergo the same procedure (1/21; 4.8%). During a median follow-up was 23 months, both PFS and OS were excellent. Conclusions: Women affected by early-stage low-grade endometrioid cancer and SEO-EC without apparent lymph node involvement at pre-operative imaging showed a very low rate of lymph node metastasis and similar relapse rate with or without lymphadenectomy.

8602 Adopting Sentinel Lymph-Node Mapping in Early Endometrial Cancers- a Pilot Study

<h3>Study Objective</h3> Sentinel Lymph node mapping has emerged as the new frontier in surgical staging of early endometrial cancers. Different colorimetric and radioactive tracers have been proposed. Fluorometric mapping using indocyanine green (ICG) appears to be suitable and attractive alternative to provide reliable staging. <h3>Design</h3> in this video we present the technique of SLN mapping in 2 cases followed by para-aortic Lymphadenectomy in one case with positive sentinel lymph node using ICG and near-infrared technology provided by the newer imaging systems. Together we also report the preliminary experience on the first 25 cases performed at our center since 2021. <h3>Setting</h3> After complete evaluation early well differentiated endometrial carcinomas were selected to undergo sentinel lymph node mapping. The patients were positioned in the in a dorsal lithotomy position after complete written informed consent. We adopted the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center SLN algorithm; All samples were subjected to frozen section and ultra-staging. . SLN was detected in all the cases (25/25, 100%). <h3>Patients or Participants</h3> During this period till date 25 cases have been enrolled. <h3>Interventions</h3> Laparoscopic staging surgery. <h3>Measurements and Main Results</h3> Bilateral SLN was detected in all the cases (100%). 13 (52%) patients received systematic pelvic lymphadenectomy after SLN mapping, and 1 patient underwent a para-aortic lymphadenectomy for positive pelvic lymph nodes. There were no peri-operative complications detected. <h3>Conclusion</h3> SLN mapping has been acknowledged by National Comprehensive Cancer Network as a viable option for management for selected uterine malignancies. Currently near infrared imaging technology is built in many camera systems and provides real-time imaging with ICG. Ours is an ongoing study and this is our preliminary observations, and these indicate that SLN mapping is an effective and safe procedure with high overall detection and low false negative rates.

Therapeutic Benefit of Systematic Lymphadenectomy in Node-Negative Uterine-Confined Endometrioid Endometrial Carcinoma: Omission of Adjuvant Therapy

Simple SummaryEndometrial cancer is the most common gynecological tract malignancy in developed countries. Extrauterine disease, in particular lymph node metastasis, is an important prognostic factor. Nevertheless, pelvic lymphadenectomy is not considered to have a therapeutic benefit, as it did not improve survival in randomized studies. However, lymphadenectomy may have a therapeutic benefit if adjuvant therapy can be omitted without decreasing oncological outcomes, as the long-term quality of life is maintained by avoiding morbidities associated with adjuvant therapy. In intermediate- and high-risk endometrioid endometrial carcinomas, adjuvant therapy may be safely omitted without decreasing long-term survival by open surgery including systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy when patients are node-negative. Systematic lymphadenectomy may remove undetectable low-volume lymph node metastasis in both pelvic and para-aortic regions, and open surgery may reduce vaginal recurrence even without vaginal brachytherapy. However, lymphadenectomy may not improve survival in elderly patients and patients with p53-mutant tumors.Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological tract malignancy in developed countries, and its incidence has been increasing globally with rising obesity rates and longer life expectancy. In endometrial cancer, extrauterine disease, in particular lymph node metastasis, is an important prognostic factor. Nevertheless, pelvic lymphadenectomy is not considered to have a therapeutic benefit, as it did not improve survival in randomized studies. However, lymphadenectomy may have a therapeutic benefit if adjuvant therapy can be omitted without decreasing oncological outcomes, as the long-term quality of life is maintained by avoiding morbidities associated with adjuvant therapy. In intermediate- and high-risk endometrioid endometrial carcinomas, adjuvant therapy may be safely omitted without decreasing long-term survival by open surgery including systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy when patients are node-negative. Systematic lymphadenectomy may remove undetectable low-volume lymph node metastasis in both pelvic and para-aortic regions, and open surgery may reduce vaginal recurrence even without vaginal brachytherapy. However, lymphadenectomy may not improve survival in elderly patients and patients with p53-mutant tumors. In this review, I discuss the characteristics of lymph node metastasis, the methods of lymph node assessment, and the therapeutic benefits of systematic lymphadenectomy in patients with intermediate- and high-risk endometrioid endometrial carcinoma.

Impact of lymph node staging in presumed early-stage ovarian carcinoma

ObjectiveOur objective was to analyze the prevalence of lymph node metastasis in early-stage ovarian carcinoma after systematic lymph node dissection and its impact on indication of adjuvant chemotherapy. Study designWe evaluated a series of 765 patients diagnosed with ovarian carcinoma who underwent surgical treatment from February 2007 to December 2019. Patients with peritoneal disease and incomplete surgical staging were excluded. All cases underwent systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy up to the renal vessels. ResultsA total of 142 cases were analyzed. Median pelvic and para-aortic lymph node dissected were 30 (range, 6–81) and 21 (range, 3–86), respectively. Twelve (8.4%) patients had metastatic lymph nodes – high-grade serous, 10.4% (5/48); clear cell, 17.2% (5/29) and endometrioid, 5.7% (2/35). Any other histology (low grade serous, mucinous, carcinosarcoma or mixed) had lymph node metastasis. Notably, 50% of patients with positive lymph nodes had preoperative suspicious lymph nodes in imaging. The median hospital stay length was 6 days (range, 2–33) and 4.2% cases had grade ≥ 3 complications. A total of 110 (77.6%) patients underwent adjuvant chemotherapy and all cases had indication of adjuvant chemotherapy after histological type, despite the lymph node status. After a median follow-up of 52.5 months, we noted 24 (16.9%) recurrences. The 5-year recurrence-free survival and overall survival were 86.4% and 98.1%, respectively. High grade histology was the only variable that negatively impacted disease-free survival in univariate analysis [HR 4.70 (95%CI: 1.09–20); p = 0.037]. ConclusionsWe found a positive lymph node rate of less than 10% after lymphadenectomy in presumed early-stage ovarian carcinoma. Lymph node status was not determinant for adjuvant chemotherapy.

Less is more in endometrial cancer (SLN, conservative treatment, radical hysterectomy, molecular classification).

The management of endometrial cancer has known many evolutions within the last decades. In this review, we aim to summarize recent evolutions (mainly toward less aggressive management) that have occurred in the management of endometrial cancer. Enhanced by molecular classification, the determination of lymph node status, in young women, in case of cervical invasion, the treatment is evolving toward a less aggressive strategy. The predictive value and the safety of sentinel lymph node biopsy explain why most societies propose to abandon systematic pelvic and para aortic lymphadenectomy. For young women, the safety of fertility preservation is now well established and efficient protocols have been validated. In stage II endometrial cancer (stromal cervical invasion), radical hysterectomy appears excessive. The Cancer Genome Atlas classification increases prognostic evaluation in association with the traditional pathological classification and permits to tailor adjuvant treatment more accurately.

Effect of lymphadenectomy on fertility and prognostic outcome in adult patients with clinically early-stage malignant ovarian germ cell tumors during fertility-sparing surgery: A retrospective multicenter study (178)

<b>Objectives:</b> Malignant ovarian germ cell tumors (MOGCTs), as a rare type of ovarian malignancies, are commonly present in children as well as young women and have an excellent prognosis when treated by surgery, followed by platinum-based chemotherapy. Based on the current National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) clinical practice guidelines, systematic lymphadenectomy (LND) can be omitted for child and adolescent patients with early-stage MOGCTs. However, the clinical role of LND for adult patients with early-stage MOGCTs remains ambiguous. The purpose of this retrospective multi-center study was to evaluate the effect of systematic LND on prognostic and fertility outcome in adult patients with clinically stage I MOGCTs who received fertility-sparing surgery (FSS) treatment and to investigate the clinical-pathologic factors associated with fertility outcomes. <b>Methods:</b> This study included adult MOGCTs patients who underwent fertility-sparing surgery (FSS) and were deemed to have disease clinically confined to the ovary at the time of the surgery (stage I) between January 2005 to June 2020 from four medical institutions. All patients were classified into two groups: the LND group (patients who underwent systematic pelvic and/or para-aortic lymphadenectomy) and the no-LND group (patients who did not undergo lymphadenectomy). Propensity score matching (PSM) algorithm was adopted to reduce the bias resulting from the differences in clinical characteristics between the two groups. The Chi-square test and the Kaplan-Meier analysis were used to compare the fertility outcome as well as the disease-free survival (DFS). The univariate logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the clinical-pathologic factors associated with fertility outcomes. <b>Results:</b> A total of 168 adult patients with clinically stage I MOGCTs who received FSS treatment were enrolled in the study. There were 92 (54.8%) patients in the LND group and 76 (45.2%) patients in the no-LND group, with a median age of 26 years (range:18-44 years). Only two (2.6%) patients had lymph nodal metastasis. Among a total of 60 patients who attempted pregnancy, 49 (81.7%) succeeded to conceive, and 40 (66.7%) delivered successfully. In the before PSM cohort, patients in the no-LND group showed a better pregnancy rate than the LND group (93.3% vs 70.0%, p=0.020). However, in the after PSM cohort, there was no significant difference in pregnancy rates between no-LND and LND groups (92.9% vs 76.9%, p=0.326). Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that age ≤25 years (OR: 3.50, 95% CI: 1.11-11.01, p=0.032) correlated with a better live birth rate. Regarding the prognostic outcome, only three (0.18%) patients had recurrence after a median follow-up of 65 months and no patient died after surgery. In the before and after PSM cohort, the 5-year DFS for patients in the LND and the no-LND groups were 97.6% versus 97.9% (p=0.707) and 89.3% versus 95.0% (p=0.335), respectively. There was no significant difference in DFS between the LND and no-LND groups in the before and after PSM cohorts. <b>Conclusions:</b> Lymphadenectomy provided no significant benefit in both prognostic and fertility outcomes for adult patients with clinically early-stage (stage I) MOGCTs who underwent FSS in our study. Moreover, age ≤25 years was associated with favorable fertility outcomes for early-stage MOGCTs patients after FSS treatment. Our study suggests that abandonment of LND seems to be a preferred choice for clinically stage I adult MOGCTs patients with FSS treatment.

Systematic Pelvic and Para-Aortic Lymphadenectomy During Fertility-Sparing Surgery in Patients With Early-Stage Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: A Retrospective Study.

ObjectiveThe implication of pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy in surgical staging of early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer (eEOC) is still debated. Limited data are available about systematic lymphadenectomy during fertility-sparing surgery (FSS) in patients with eEOC.MethodsThe medical records of 38 patients with FIGO stage I EOC and below 40 years who underwent FSS at our hospital between January 2003 and December 2018 were retrospectively reviewed.ResultsAmong them, 18 patients (47.4%) underwent comprehensive lymphadenectomy, 11 patients (28.9%) underwent lymph node sampling, and 9 patients (23.7%) did not undergo lymphadenectomy. There was no statically significant difference in age, histology, grade, surgical approach, chemotherapy, and gestation among the three groups. With a median follow-up of 52.5 months (range: 24–153), three patients (7.9%) with FIGO stage IC EOC developed tumor recurrence. In these patients, progress-free survival (PFS) was 92.1%, and overall survival (OS) was 94.7%. No significant difference in the OS. Three patients had among all the patients, 15 patients (39.5%) had gestation after treatment, and 23 patients (60.5%) did not have gestation after treatment.ConclusionThe number of lymph nodes removed did not significantly affect survival eEOC with FSS. Systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy could not be performed for mucious eEOC patients with FSS if intraoperative freezing in confirmed and no suspicious lymph nodes are found. A better understanding of sentinel lymph node biopsy may help to identify whether the patient requires FSS.

The Feasibility of Sentinel Lymph-Node, Mapped with Indocyanine Green, Biopsy in Endometrial Cancer Patients: A Prospective Study

Background and objectives. Systematic pelvic lymphadenectomy (LND) is an essential part of lymph-node status evaluation in endometrial cancer (EC) patients to tailor the adjuvant treatment. However, it is associated with the post-operative lymphatic complications and does not improve the outcomes of the disease. Indocyanine green (ICG) mapped sentinel lymph-node biopsy (SLB) has recently been introduced into the clinical practice as an alternative for the surgical lymph-node evaluation in EC patients with the potential to decrease LND related complications. The aim of our study was to evaluate the feasibility of ICG mapped SLB in low, intermediate, and high-risk EC patients in a center with no previous experience on endoscopic SLB procedure. Materials and Methods: The prospective study was performed. 170 patients with histologically confirmed EC were included. Sentinel lymph-nodes (SLs) were mapped with ICG dye and removed ahead of the total laparoscopic hysterectomy. Low-risk patients received only SLB, while SLB and LND were performed for intermediate and high-risk patients. Results: The overall detection rate of SLs was 88.8%. Bilateral mapping was achieved in 68.2% of the patients. The overall detection rate for low-risk patients was 93.7%, 85.0% for the intermediate-risk group, and 100% for high-risk patients (p = 0.232). The most common anatomical sites of SLs were the external iliac (45.8% on the right and 46.6% on the left) and obturator regions (20.9% and 25.6%, respectively). Positive lymph-nodes were found in 8 (4.7%) patients. The sensitivity of SLB was 75.0% and negative predictive value (NPV)—97.2%. Conclusions: Even in the center with no previous experience, sentinel lymph-node biopsy using ICG mapping is feasible. However, the favorable outcomes might be associated with the learning process of newly established method.

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Surgical Staging for High-Risk Groups of Endometrial Carcinoma Patients.

Background: In endometrial carcinoma (EC) patients, sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has shown the potential to reduce post-operative morbidity and long-term complications, and to improve the detection of low-volume metastasis through ultrastaging. However, while it has shown high sensitivity and feasibility in low-risk EC patient groups, its role in high-risk groups is still unclear. Aim: To assess the role of SLN biopsy through the cervical injection of indocyanine green (ICG) in high-risk groups of early-stage EC patients. Materials and methods: Seven electronic databases were searched from their inception to February 2021 for studies that allowed data extraction about detection rate and accuracy of SLN biopsy through the cervical injection of ICG in high-risk groups of early-stage EC patients. We calculated pooled sensitivity, false negative (FN) rate, detection rate of SLN per hemipelvis (DRh), detection rate of SLN per patients (DRp), and bilateral detection rate of SLN (DRb), with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Five observational cohort studies (three prospective and two retrospective) assessing 578 high risk EC patients were included. SLN biopsy sensitivity in detecting EC metastasis was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.03–0.95). FN rate was 2.8% (95% CI: 0.6–11.6%). DRh was 88.4% (95% CI: 86–90.5%), DRp was 96.6% (95% CI: 94.7–97.8%), and DRb was 80% (95% CI: 75.4–83.9). Conclusion: SLN biopsy through ICG cervical injection may be routinely adopted instead of systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy in surgical staging for high-risk groups of early-stage EC patients, as well as in low-risk groups.

Lymphadenectomy in Primary Fallopian Tube Cancer is Associated with Improved Survival

Background and Objectives Primary fallopian tube cancer (PFTC) shares the same diagnostic and management guidelines with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). The LION trail raised concerns regarding the role of systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy during debulking surgery. We aimed to evaluate the significance of lymphadenectomy in PFTC survival. Methods This retrospective study analyzed the clinical features and survival of patients with PFTC who underwent primary surgery in our center between January 2013 and October 2020. Results Sixty-one patients diagnosed with PFTC were included in the study. Twenty-five (41.0%, 25/61) were diagnosed with FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) stages I/II and 36 (59.0%, 36/61) were diagnosed with stage III/IV. Twenty-nine (47.5%, 29/61) underwent pelvic lymphadenectomy with or without para-aortic lymphadenectomy, among which 12 (41.4%, 12/29) had lymph node metastasis confirmed by postoperative pathology. The mean progression-free survival was 60.4 months in the lymphadenectomy group and 37.8 months in the no-lymphadenectomy group (p = 0.042, HR 0.374, 95% CI 0.145–0.966). Conclusions PFTC is often diagnosed earlier and has a better prognosis than EOC. Most patients with PFTC would benefit from lymphadenectomy. However, the extent to which this association translates to a more diverse population needs to be further identified.

Is Adjuvant Chemotherapy Necessary in Patients with Early Endometrial Cancer?

We investigated whether there was a difference in prognosis between patients with stage IA endometrial cancer with and without lymphovascular space invasion. We enrolled patients with stage IA (pT1aN0M0) endometrial cancer admitted to our hospital from 2009 to 2018. All patients underwent hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and systematic pelvic lymphadenectomy. We immunopathologically evaluated the presence or absence of lymphovascular space invasion in the tumor tissue using hematoxylin and eosin, Elastica-van Gieson, and podoplanin staining. We analyzed disease-free and overall survival and calculated patients' survival distribution using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. The multivariate analysis was performed to determine the prognostic factors. A total of 116 patients were included. The median age of the patients was 57 (range, 30-78) years, and the histological subtype revealed 98 and 18 cases of types 1 and 2, respectively. The median follow-up period was 71.9 (range, 10.8-149) months, and the 3-year disease-free and 3-year overall survival rates were 94% and 99%, respectively. The disease-free and overall survival rates were significantly shorter in type 2 patients than in type 1 patients (type 2 vs. type 1; 77% vs. 97%, P < 0.01, 94% vs. 100%, P = 0.014, respectively). The univariate and multivariate analyses showed that there were no significant differences in disease-free survival between the lymphovascular space invasion-positive and -negative groups among type 1 cases. There was no difference in prognosis between patients with stage IA and type 1 endometrial cancer with and without lymphovascular space invasion.

Clinical Study of Sentinel Lymph Node Detection Using Photodynamic Eye for Abdominal Radical Trachelectomy.

This study aimed to assess the accuracy of predicting pelvic lymph node status using sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy with indocyanine green (ICG) and to examine the outcomes of SLN biopsy-guided abdominal radical trachelectomy (ART). Patients with stage IA2–IB2 cervical cancer from January 2009 to January 2021 were included. ICG was injected before ART and SLNs were identified, excised, and assessed intraoperatively using fast-frozen sections. Systemic pelvic lymphadenectomy was subsequently performed. The SLN detection rate, sensitivity, and false-negative rate were determined. Thirty patients desiring fertility preservation were enrolled, of whom 26 successfully completed ART and four underwent radical hysterectomies because of metastatic primary SLNs. Bilateral SLNs were identified in all patients. The sensitivity, false-negative rate, and negative predictive value were 100%, 7.7%, and 92.3%, respectively. Three (12%) patients were lost to follow-up: two relapsed and one died of tumor progression. Of the nine patients who tried to conceive after surgery, four achieved pregnancy and three delivered healthy live infants. In women with early-stage cervical cancer who desired to conserve fertility, SLN mapping with ICG had a very high detection rate, sensitivity, and low false-negative rate. SLN biopsy-guided ART is a feasible and accurate method for assessing pelvic node status.