Journal of Surgery

Role of Sentinel Lymph Node in Early Stage of Uterine Cervical Cancer

Abstract

Mihaela Mădălina Gavrilescu, Ana-Maria Todosi, Nicolae Ioanid, and Viorel Scripcariu

Cervical cancer is currently the second most common form of neoplasia worldwide and third in the female population. Dissemination can occur directly (isthmus, parametrium, vagina, urinary bladder and/or rectum), through the lymphatic system (parametrium, internal iliac, external iliac, common iliac, obturator lymph nodes and rarely in the inferior gluteus, superior gluteus, superior rectum, sacrum, aortic lymph nodes) and through the circulatory system (lung, mediastinum, bones, liver). The risk of pelvic lymph nodes invasion in stage IB (FIGO) is 9-17%. The standard surgical treatment, for stages IA2-IIA, is radical hysterectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy. The risk of intraoperative (vessel or nerve damage) or postoperative complications (lymphedema) is not negligible. The sentinel node concept refers to the first lymph node in which the cancerous lymphatic drainage takes place. This idea has radically changed the therapeutic approach in the treatment of breast cancer and melanoma. In cervical cancers, this technique is 92% accurate with only an 8% false negative rate. Currently, the sentinel node protocol is not included in the standard treatment for cervical cancer because certain issues need to be addressed (the sensitivity of the frozen section examination, the pathologist’s subjectivity, the uniformity of the protocol, the surgical experience, the size of the tumor).