Clinical factors associated with failed sentinel lymph node mapping in endometrial cancer

Do hematologic malignancies cause a barrier for sentinel lymph node mapping in endometrial cancer? A case report

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping has changed the way of lymph node assessment and provided a minimal invasive option that lessens the negative effects of a full lymphadenectomy, has become a crucial tool in the treatment of endometrial cancer. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and endometrial cancer diagnosis at the same is a rare condition. This case report presents a 66-year-old woman admitting to the hospital with the complaint of postmenopausal bleeding. After hysteroscopic evaluation and Magnetic Resonance imaging confirming the endometrial cancer, total laparoscopic hysterectomy and bilateral salphingo-ooferectomy with SLN mapping operation was planned. In the preoperative preparation she was also diagnosed with CLL. Considering the possible lymphatic obstruction, the risk of SLN mapping failure was foreseen, yet still the operation was performed as planned. This report will highlight a case where endometrial cancer and CLL were identified simultaneously, along with successful SLN mapping.

Assessment of sentinel Lymph node mapping with different volumes of Indocyanine green in early-stage ENdometrial cancer: the ALIEN study

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of different volumes of indocyanine green (ICG) on the detection rate and bilateral mapping of sentinel lymph nodes in patients with apparent uterine-confined endometrial cancer.

METHODS

All patients who underwent surgical staging with sentinel node mapping in six reference centers were included. Two different protocols of ICG intracervical injection were used: (1) 2 mL group: total volume of 2 mL injected superficially; (2) 4 mL group: total volume of 4 mL, 2 mL deeply and 2 mL superficially. Logistic regression was used to analyze factors that could influence dye migration and detection rates. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to determine how independent variables could affect the sentinel node detection rate.

RESULTS

Of 442 eligible patients, 352 were analyzed (172 in the 2 mL group and 180 in the 4 mL group). The bilateral detection rates of the 2 mL and 4 mL groups were 84.9% and 86.1%, respectively (p=0.76). The overall detection rate was higher with a volume of 4 mL than with 2 mL (97.8% vs 92.4%, respectively; p=0.024). In the univariate analysis the rate of bilateral mapping fell from 87.5% to 73.5% when the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) 2009 tumor stage was >IB (p=0.018). In the multivariate analysis, for both overall and bilateral detection rates a statistically significant difference emerged for the volume of ICG injected and FIGO 2009 stage >IB. Increasing body mass index was associated with worse overall detection rates on univariate analysis (p=0.0006), and significantly decreased from 97% to 91% when the body mass index exceeded 30 kg/m2 (p=0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with early-stage endometrial cancer, a volume of 2 mL ICG does not seem to compromise the bilateral detection of sentinel lymph nodes. In women with obesity and FIGO 2009 stage >IB, a 4 mL injection should be preferred.