Clinical value and challenge of sentinel lymph node biopsy for cervical cancer / 中国医师杂志

ABSTRACT

Cervical cancer, a common malignant tumor in female reproductive system, seriously threatens women's life and health. The standard surgery for early cervical cancer is radical hysterectomy + pelvic lymphadenectomy±para-aortic lymph node sampling. Lymph node metastasis is an independent risk factor for the prognosis of cervical cancer patients. Several researches showed that the incident of lymph node metastasis in early cervical cancer was approximately 20%. Giving the complications and sequelae of systematic lymph node resection, its application in early cervical cancer is still doubted. The sentinel lymph node, where lymph node metastasis firstly occurs, attracts much attention in the surgical treatment of malignant tumors. Hence, sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) came into being. Recent studies have indicated that SLNB is safe and feasible for early cervical cancer and SLNB is recommended to patients with early cervical cancer. This article will introduce the application of SLNB in cervical cancer in the recent years and discuss its clinical value and related challenges.