Comment on “Determinants of Lymph Node Count in Endometrial Cancer Surgical Staging”

ObjectiveLymphadenectomy is a fundamental procedure in gynecologic oncology, but there is an ongoing debate concerning its indication in endometrial cancer. Lymph node (LN) count has been used as a surrogate marker for quality of staging in endometrial cancer. Because of variability in reported LN counts in the literature and within our practice, we aimed to better understand the factors that influence the final LN count in endometrial cancer staging.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective case study of patients with endometrial cancer who underwent surgical staging at our institution between April 1, 2005, and February 3, 2007. Linear regression was used to determine the association between LN count and a series of predictor variables.ResultsOf 131 patients, 100 patients (76%) had stage I disease and 9 patients (7%) had LN metastasis. The mean (SD) LN count was 9.5 (7.8). We found no significant difference in LN count according to age, tumor histology, stage, or surgeon. Lymph node count decreased by 1 for each 5-unit (kg/m2) increase in body mass index (coefficient, −0.2; P = 0.038). The strongest predictor associated with LN count was the pathologist, with 2 groups of pathologists counting an average 7.7 (P < 0.001) and 6.42 (P = 0.001) fewer LNs per case compared to the referent group.ConclusionsOur study confirms that LN count varies markedly. Although not the only contributor, the pathologist, we found, was the most significant determining factor in LN count variation. This highlights the need to exercise caution when drawing conclusions from published LN counts in endometrial cancer research.

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Cervical versus endometrial injection for sentinel lymph node detection in endometrial cancer: a randomized clinical trial

International Journal of Gynecological Cancer ◽

10.1136/ijgc-2019-000860 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (3) ◽

pp. 325-331 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Şener Gezer ◽

Seda Duman Öztürk ◽

Turkay Hekimsoy ◽

Çiğdem Vural ◽

Serkan İşgören ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Endometrial Cancer ◽

Lymph Node ◽

Sentinel Lymph Node ◽

Lymph Nodes ◽

Predictive Value ◽

False Negative ◽

Sentinel Lymph Nodes ◽

Sentinel Lymph Node Detection ◽

Lymph Node Count ◽

Node Count

ObjectiveTo evaluate the relationship between pelvic/para-aortic sentinel lymph node status and two different injection sites of 99m-technetium (99mTc)-labeled phytate in patients with endometrial cancer.MethodsThis was a randomized controlled trial involving 81 patients with endometrial cancer. In the cervical group (n=40), injections of 99mTc were performed at the 3 and 9 o’clock positions of the uterine cervix. In the endometrial group (n=41), 99mTc was injected into the fundal endometrium using a transcervical catheter. Sentinel lymph nodes were detected through pre-operative lymphoscintigraphy and intra-operatively using a handheld gamma probe. All patients underwent complete pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy procedures. Pathologic ultra-staging was performed with immunostaining for cytokeratin in sentinel lymph nodes after routine hematoxylin and eosin histological examinations. The primary endpoint was the estimation of detection rates, sensitivity, false-negative rates, negative predictive value, and analysis of the distribution of pelvic and para-aortic sentinel lymph nodes.ResultsThe rate of detection of at least one sentinel lymph node, sensitivity, and the negative predictive value was 80%, 66.6%, 96.6% for the cervical group and 85%, 66.6%, 96.9% for the endometrial group, respectively. False-negative sentinel lymph nodes were detected in one patient from each group . There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of total sentinel lymph node count, sentinel pelvic lymph node count, and pelvic bilaterality, but the para-aortic sentinel lymph node count was significantly higher in the endometrial group (p<0.001). Ultra-staging examination of the pelvic sentinel lymph nodes revealed isolated tumor cells in one patient from each group.ConclusionTranscervical endometrial tracer injection in endometrial cancer revealed similar pelvic but significantly higher para-aortic sentinel lymph node detection.

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Association of Lymph Node Count and Overall Survival in Node-Negative Endometrial Cancers

JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics ◽

10.1200/cci.16.00064 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 1-15

Author(s):

Brandon-Luke L. Seagle ◽

Douglas Gilchrist-Scott ◽

Stephen Graves ◽

Anna E. Strohl ◽

Wilberto Nieves-Neira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Overall Survival ◽

Endometrial Cancer ◽

Lymph Node ◽

Lymph Nodes ◽

Stage I ◽

Stage Iiia ◽

Node Negative ◽

Lymph Node Count ◽

Endometrial Cancers ◽

Node Count

Purpose To estimate whether the number of lymph nodes removed during surgery is associated with overall survival among women with endometrial cancer. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study of women with node-negative, stage I to IIIB endometrial cancer (n = 152,702) identified from the 1998-2011 National Cancer Database. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression tested for an association of lymph node count with survival. Restricted mean survival and relative hazard curves were plotted for survival as a function of number of removed lymph nodes. Results Among women with node-negative endometrioid endometrial cancer, for each additional five lymph nodes removed, the hazard for death decreased: stage I, the hazard ratio (HR) was 0.95 (95% CI, 0.93 to 0.97; P < .001), stage II, HR was 0.90 (95% CI, 0.87 to 0.94; P < .001); and stage IIIA-B, HR was 0.92 (95% CI, 0.88 to 0.96; P < .001). When grouped by grade, each additional five lymph nodes removed was also associated with decreased hazard for death: grade 1, HR was 0.96 (95% CI, 0.93 to 0.99; P = .009); grade 2, HR was 0.91 (95% CI, 0.89 to 0.94; P < .001); and grade 3, HR was 0.95 (95% CI, 0.92 to 0.97; P < .001). Increased lymph node dissection was also associated with increased survival among women with node-negative stage II (HR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86 to 0.98; P = .01) or stage IIIA-B (HR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.89 to 0.99; P = .025) uterine serous carcinoma, but not among women with carcinosarcoma or clear cell adenocarcinoma. Five-year survival for women with one to four nodes removed and endometrioid or serous histology was 85% (95% CI, 84% to 85%) and 54% (95% CI, 50% to 59%), respectively. Five-year survival was significantly higher for women with ≥ 20 removed nodes and endometrioid (91%; 95% CI, 90% to 91%) or serous (72%; 95% CI, 68% to 76%) histology ( P < .001). Conclusion Increased lymph node count is associated with a 1% to 14% decreased hazard of death per each additional five lymph nodes removed and a 5% to 20% increased 5-year survival among women with pathologically node-negative endometrioid and serous endometrial cancers.

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