Sentinel lymphnode for endometrial cancer: where are we?

Abstract

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common cancer of all gynecological malignancies. Most women are diagnosed with an earlystage disease, which generally has a good prognosis. Lymph node dissection represents a cornerstone not only for staging but also for treatment of EC. In recent years a novel technique “Sentinel lymph node (SLN)” emerged as a valuable alternative option to lymphadenectomy. This technique has in most of the literature reports a reduced morbidity and enhanced detection of metastatic disease, due to contribution to detection of aberrant lymphatic pathways on one hand, and improvement of pathologic ultra-staging techniques on the other hand. The current review aims to summarize the existing data on the feasibility of the SLN technique and the oncologic outcomes.

Keywords

• endometrial cancer
• sentinel lymph node
• lymphadenectomy
• staging
• oncologic outcomes
• survival