Incorporation of sentinel lymph node biopsy in cervical cancer surgery: Recent U.S. trends

Benefits of sentinel node detection in cervical cancer

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a widely used technique in other gynaecological tumours but has not yet been implemented as the gold standard technique for nodal staging in cervical cancer. Since the majority of evidence is derived from retrospective studies, this review aims to summarize the most recent evidence on this relevant topic.

RECENT FINDINGS

SLNB has demonstrated to be a well tolerated technique for lymph node staging in early-stage cervical cancer patients with promising future as exclusive lymph node assessment method avoiding full lymphadenectomy. Moreover, it allows ultrastaging and unfrequent drainage identification, which enables the detection of patients at a high risk of recurrence who would otherwise remain unnoticed. When compared with pelvic lymphadenectomy, SLNB is also associated with less intraoperative and postoperative complications, especially in terms of lymphedema formation.

SUMMARY

The available evidence suggests that SLNB offers numerous advantages over the standard pelvic lymphadenectomy reducing morbidity rates and increasing diagnostic accuracy. Three ongoing prospective trials will likely answer the controversies over these questions.

Assessment of postoperative therapy de-escalation for early-stage, intermediate-risk cervical cancer

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to assess the oncologic outcome of surgically-treated patients with early-stage, intermediate-risk cervical cancer according to postoperative therapy modality.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study queried the Japanese Gynecologic Oncology Group's nationwide surgical data platform. The study population was 1084 patients with stage IB cervical cancer who underwent primary radical hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy from 2004 to 2008. Histology type-incorporated intermediate-risk factor patterns were clustered into three groups based on recurrence risk. Oncologic outcomes were assessed per postoperative therapy: external beam radiotherapy alone, concurrent chemo-radiotherapy, chemotherapy alone, and no treatment.

RESULTS

Histology-incorporated intermediate-risk groups included: no lympho-vascular space invasion in any histology, or squamous cell carcinoma with lympho-vascular space invasion but no deep stromal invasion (n=559, 51.6%, group 1); squamous cell carcinoma with both lympho-vascular space invasion and deep cervical stromal invasion (n=281, 25.9%; group 2); and non-squamous histology with lympho-vascular space invasion (n=244, 22.5%; group 3). The 5-year disease-free survival rates were 93.3%, 89.3%, and 82.5% for group 1,-2, and -3, respectively (p<0.001), with group 3 exhibiting an almost three-fold increased recurrence risk compared with group 1 (adjusted-hazard ratio (aHR) 2.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.70-4.32), followed by group 2 (aHR 1.67, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.75). Disease-free survival was similar across the postoperative therapy groups: 5 year rates for external beam radiotherapy alone, concurrent chemo-radiotherapy, chemotherapy alone, and no postoperative treatment, 94.8%, 87.2%, 93.6%, and 94.2% for group 1 (p=0.294); 85.0%, 93.3%, 87.3%, and 90.5% for group 2 (p=0.578); and 85.4%, 83.1%, 80.5%, and 83.3% for group 3 (p=0.876). The aHR for disease-free survival comparing no postoperative treatment to external beam radiotherapy alone was 1.10 (95% CI 0.37 to 3.28), 0.71 (95% CI 0.29 to 1.79), and 1.21 (95% CI 0.42 to 3.51) for group 1, group 2, and group 3, respectively. The observed exposure-outcome associations were similar for cause-specific survival (all, p>0.05).

CONCLUSION

In this retrospective investigation in Japan, active surveillance without postoperative therapy following radical hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy was not associated with oncologic outcome in early-stage, intermediate-risk cervical cancer.

Survival after sentinel lymph node biopsy for early cervical cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Sentinel lymph node biopsy represents an alternative to pelvic lymphadenectomy for lymph node staging of early-stage cervical carcinoma, but prospective evidence on long-term oncological safety of sentinel lymph node biopsy alone versus pelvic lymphadenectomy is missing.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate, with this meta-analysis, the impact of sentinel lymph node biopsy alone versus pelvic lymphadenectomy on survival for patients with early-stage cervical cancer.

METHODS

A systematic literature review was performed. We excluded studies in which pelvic lymphadenectomy was systematically performed after every sentinel lymph node biopsy, including only articles where pelvic lymphadenectomy was performed because sentinel lymph node biopsy was not conclusive. A meta-analysis was carried out combining 5-year disease-free survival and overall survival rates with a random and fixed effect model. Heterogeneity was tested using the Cochran Χ2 test and quantified with Higgins information I2.

RESULTS

The search of databases and registers found 927 items and six articles (two retrospective and four prospective). The median time of follow-up was 34.8 months (range 13-53). Overall common effect disease-free survival was 98% while random effect disease-free survival was 94%. Overall heterogeneity was 77%. A subgroup analysis was applied, dividing studies into one group including sentinel lymph node biopsy negative data only (common effect disease-free survival 91%; random effect disease-free survival 90%), and one group with a negative and positive sentinel lymph node biopsy (common effect disease-free survival 98%; random effect disease-free survival 96%). In the analysis of overall survival, positive and negative sentinel lymph node biopsy cases were examined together (common and random effect overall survival 99%). Ultrastaging did not affect disease-free survival (common and random effect disease-free survival 92% in the ultrastaging group vs common effect disease-free survival 99% and random effect disease-free survival 96% in the non-ultrastaging group).

CONCLUSIONS

Both 5-year disease-free survival and overall survival rate after sentinel lymph node biopsy alone are higher than 90% and do not differ from pelvic lymphadenectomy survival data. Ultrastaging did not impact survival.

Increasing trends of cervical conization with lymph node evaluation for fertility-sparing surgery in early cervical cancer

OBJECTIVE

To examine uptake, characteristics, and survival outcome of less-radical fertility-sparing surgery with cervical conization and lymph node evaluation (Cone-LN) in reproductive age patients with early cervical cancer.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study examined the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. The study population included 407 patients aged <50 years with stage IA-IB2 (≤4 cm) cervical cancer who received fertility-sparing surgery from 2004 to 2019. The exposure was fertility-sparing surgery type: Cone-LN (n = 196) or trachelectomy with lymph node evaluation (Trach-LN, n = 211). The main co-outcomes were (i) temporal trends of surgery type, assessed with Cochran-Armitage test, and (ii) clinical and tumor characteristics, assessed with multivariable binary logistic regression model. The secondary outcome was overall survival, assessed with inverse probability of treatment weighting propensity score.

RESULTS

The number of patients receiving Cone-LN increased from 43.5% in 2004-2007 to 58.4% in 2016-2019 (P-trend = 0.005). Patients receiving conization and sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy alone increased from 0% to 14.4% (P-trend < 0.001). In a multivariable analysis, patients in the Cone-LN group were more likely to undergo SLN biopsy (aOR 6.04) compared to those in the Trach-LN group whereas those with adenocarcinoma (aOR 0.49) and T1b tumors (aOR for ≤2 cm 0.21, and aOR for 2.1-4.0 cm 0.10) were less likely to receive Cone-LN. In a propensity score-weighted model, the Cone-LN and Trach-LN groups had comparable overall survival (7-year rates, 98.9% vs 97.8%). Similar associations were observed for patients with squamous, adenocarcinoma / adenosquamous, T1a classification, and T1b(≤2 cm) classification.

CONCLUSION

The current population-based analysis suggests that the performance of cervical conization with lymph node evaluation, particularly with SLN biopsy, is gradually increasing for early cervical cancer patients desiring future fertility.

Utilization of sentinel lymph node biopsy in the early ovarian cancer surgery

OBJECTIVE

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has been incorporated into surgical care for many malignancies; however, the utility has not been examined in ovarian cancer. This study examined population-level trends, characteristics, and outcomes related to SLN biopsy in early stage ovarian cancer.

METHODS

This is a retrospective cohort study querying the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result Program from 2003-2018. The study population consisted of 11,512 women with stage I ovarian cancer who had adnexectomy-based surgical staging including lymph node evaluation. Exposure allocation was based on SLN biopsy use. Main outcomes measured were (i) trends and characteristics associated with SLN biopsy use, assessed by multivariable logistic regression model, and (ii) overall survival assessed with inverse provability of treatment weighting propensity score.

RESULTS

SLN biopsy was performed in less than 1% of study population. In a multivariable analysis, recent surgery (2011-2018 versus 2003-2010, odds ratio [OR] 1.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03-2.59), smaller tumor size (< 10 versus ≥ 10 cm, OR 3.07, 95% CI 1.20-7.84), and East registry area (OR 2.74, 95% CI 1.73-4.36) remained independent characteristics for SLN biopsy use. In a propensity score weighted model, 5-year overall survival rate was 90.5% for the SLN biopsy-incorporated group and 88.6% for the lymphadenectomy group (hazard ratio 0.96, 95% CI 0.53-1.73).

CONCLUSION

SLN biopsy was rarely performed for early ovarian cancer surgery during the study period with insufficient evidence to interpret the survival effect. SLN biopsy in early ovarian cancer appears to be in early development phase, warranting further study and careful evaluation to assess feasibility and oncologic outcome.

Model-Based Computational Analysis on the Effectiveness of Enhanced Recovery after Surgery in the Operating Room with Nursing

Objective

In order to better understand the relative surgical process, this work used a model-based computational analysis on the effectiveness of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in the operating room with nursing.

Methods

A total of 360 surgical patients in the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, from the period June 2020 to March 2021, were randomly divided into two groups, namely, observation group and control group, with 180 cases in each group. Routine nursing was used in the control group, while ERAS was implemented in the observation group from the point of view of four aspects, namely, preoperative visit, intraoperative cooperation, postoperative return visit, and psychological intervention.

Results

Postoperative complications, average hospital stay, nursing satisfaction, and postoperative quality of life in the observation group were significantly better than those in the control group (all p &lt; 0.05).

Conclusion

The application of ERAS for surgical patients can enhance team awareness, optimize the process of cooperation, reduce surgical complications and improve nursing quality, and prognosis, and it is worth popularizing in the operating room.