Sentinel lymph node biopsy

The first lymph node that cancer cells reach via the lymphatic system is called the "sentinel lymph node." The procedure of detecting and removing this sentinel lymph node and examining it under a microscope for cancer metastasis is called a "sentinel lymph node biopsy." Confirming that the sentinel lymph node is free of metastasis also determines that other lymph nodes are free of metastasis, preventing unnecessary lymph node dissection. Avoiding unnecessary lymph node dissection reduces complications such as lymphedema. This concept has already been covered by health insurance in the treatment of breast cancer and malignant melanoma, and several clinical studies have demonstrated its usefulness in uterine cancer, so it is expected to be widely adopted in the near future. Our hospital is conducting sentinel lymph node biopsies for uterine cancer as part of a clinical study. If intraoperative rapid pathology testing shows no metastasis to the sentinel lymph node, we omit part of the pelvic lymph node dissection in cervical cancer, striving to reduce complications such as postoperative lymphedema.