Can Conization Specimens Predict Sentinel Lymph Node Status in Early-Stage Cervical Cancer? A SENTICOL Group Study

Background: The prognosis of patients with cervical cancer is significantly worsened in case of lymph node involvement. The goal of this study was to determine whether pathologic features in conization specimens can predict the sentinel lymph node (SLN) status in early-stage cervical cancer. Methods: An ancillary analysis of two prospective multicentric database on SLN biopsy for cervical cancer (SENTICOL I and II) was carried out. Patients with IA to IB2 2018 FIGO stage, who underwent preoperative conization before SLN biopsy were included. Results: Between January 2005 and July 2012, 161 patients from 25 French centers fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Macrometastases, micrometastases and Isolated tumor cells (ITCs) were found in 4 (2.5%), 6 (3.7%) and 5 (3.1%) patients respectively. Compared to negative SLN patients, patients with micrometastatic and macrometastatic SLN were more likely to have lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) (60% vs. 29.5%, p = 0.04) and deep stromal invasion (DSI) ≥ 10 mm (50% vs. 17.8%, p = 0.04). Among the 93 patients with DSI < 10 mm and absence of LVSI on conization specimens, three patients (3.2%) had ITCs and only one (1.1%) had micrometastases. Conclusions: Patients with DSI < 10 mm and no LVSI in conization specimens had lower risk of micro- and macrometastatic SLN. In this subpopulation, full node dissection may be questionable in case of SLN unilateral detection.

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Frozen section examination of sentinel lymph nodes can be used as a decisional tool in the surgical management of early cervical cancer

International Journal of Gynecological Cancer ◽

10.1136/ijgc-2019-000904 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (3) ◽

pp. 358-363 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Agnieszka Rychlik ◽

Martina Aida Angeles ◽

Federico Migliorelli ◽

Sabrina Croce ◽

Eliane Mery ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cervical Cancer ◽

Lymph Node ◽

Early Stage ◽

Frozen Section ◽

Lymph Node Involvement ◽

Stage Iiic ◽

Frozen Section Examination ◽

Early Stage Cervical Cancer ◽

Node Involvement ◽

The Impact

IntroductionSentinel lymph node (SLN) detection has been shown to be accurate in detecting lymph node involvement in early-stage cervical cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of frozen section examination in the assessment of SLN status, with the aim of adequately driving the intra-operative decision.MethodsWe designed a retrospective study including patients from two comprehensive cancer centers between January 2001 and December 2018 with early-stage cervical cancer (IA1-IB2 according to International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) 2018) undergoing SLN dissection. The SLN procedure was performed using a cervical injection with technetium-99m combined with blue dye or indocyanine green in most cases.ResultsA total of 176 patients fulfilled inclusion criteria. Bilateral mapping was detected in 153 (86.7%) of them. Nineteen of these patients (12.4%) had SLN involvement: 13 with macrometastases, three with micrometastases and three with isolated tumor cells (ITC). Macrometastatic disease was missed on frozen section in 3/13 FIGO 2018 stage IIIC patients. The three patients with ITC were also missed by frozen section examination.Considering only macrometastases as lymph node involvement, frozen section sensitivity was 76.9% (95% CI 49.7 to 91.8) and negative predictive value (NPV) was 97.9% (95% CI 94.0 to 99.3) in patients with bilateral detection. Including micrometastases, sensitivity was 81.2% (95% CI 57.0 to 93.4) and NPV remained at 97.9% (95% CI 93.9 to 99.3).ConclusionsWith a prevalence of final-stage IIIC in patients with pre-operative early-stage cervical cancer of the order of 10% in this series, the NPV of frozen section examination of SLN is very high, with an inferior limit of the CI superior to 94%. Diagnostic accuracy remains acceptable even if micrometastases are considered. The impact of missed ITC has not been established. Frozen section examination can be incorporated in the intra-operative decision algorithm.

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Long-term oncological safety of sentinel lymph node biopsy in early-stage cervical cancer.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2020.38.15_suppl.6006 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. 6006-6006 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Vincent Balaya ◽

Benedetta Guani ◽

Laurent Magaud ◽

Bonsang-Kitzis Hélène ◽

Charlotte Ngo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cervical Cancer ◽

Lymph Node ◽

Sentinel Lymph Node ◽

Early Stage ◽

Disease Free Survival ◽

Figo Stage ◽

Pathologic Examination ◽

Early Stage Cervical Cancer ◽

Disease Specific

6006 Background: The goal of this study was to assess disease-free survival (DFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) in patients with early-stage cervical cancer who underwent bilateral sentinel lymph node (BSLN) biopsy alone versus bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy (BPL). Methods: An ancillary analysis of two prospective multicentric trials on SLN biopsy for cervical cancer (SENTICOL I and II) was performed. All patients with early stage cervical cancer (IA to IIB FIGO stage), negative SLN after ultrastaging and negative non-SLN after final pathologic examination were included. Risk-factors of recurrency and disease-specific deaths were determined by Cox proportional hazard models. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were compared by applying log-rank test. Results: Between January 2005 and July 2012, 259 patients met the inclusion criteria: 85 patients underwent only bilateral SLN biopsy whereas 174 patients underwent BPL. None had positive SLN at ultrastaging or positive non-SLN at final pathologic examination. Between the both groups, there was no differences in histology, final FIGO stage and type of surgical approach. In the BPL group, patients had more frequently tumor size larger than 20 mm (22.9% vs 10.7%, p = 0.02) and postoperative radiochemotherapy (10.7% vs 1.6%, p = 0.01). The median follow-up was 47 months (4-127). During the follow-up, 21 patients (8.1%) experienced reccurencies, including 4 nodal recurrences (1.9%), and 9 patients (3.5%) died of cervical cancer. The 5-year DFS and the DSS were similar between BSLN and BPL groups, 94.1% vs 97.7%, p = 0.14 and 88.2% vs 93.7%, p = 0.14 respectively. After controlling for final FIGO stage and margin status, BSLN compared to BPL was not associated with DFS (HR = 1.76, 95%CI = [0.69 – 4.53], p = 0.24) and DSS (HR = 2.5, 95%CI = [0.64 – 9.83], p = 0.19). Only final FIGO stage was independent predictor of DSS. Conclusions: SLN biopsy alone is oncologically safe in early-stage cervical cancer. Full lymphadenectomy could be omitted in case of bilateral negative SLN. Worse prognosis was associated with higher FIGO stage disease.

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