Laparoscopic sentinel lymph node (SLN) versus extensive pelvic dissection for clinically localized prostate carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Lymph node metastasis is an important prognostic factor in prostate cancer (PC). The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the accuracy of sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy by laparoscopy in staging locoregional patients with clinically localized PC. METHODS: A transrectal ultrasound-guided injection of 0.3 ml/100 MBq (99m)Tc-sulphur rhenium colloid in each prostatic lobe was performed the day before surgery. Detection was performed intraoperatively with a laparoscopic probe (Gamma Sup CLERAD) followed by extensive resection. SLN counts were performed in vivo and confirmed ex vivo. Histological analysis was performed by haematoxylin-phloxine-saffron staining, followed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) if the SLN was free of metastasis. RESULTS: The study included 93 patients with PC at intermediate or high risk of lymph node metastases. The intraoperative detection rate was 93.5% (87/93). Nineteen patients had lymph node metastases, nine only in SLN. The false-negative rate was 10.5% (2/19). The internal iliac region was the primary metastatic site (43.3%). Metastatic sentinel nodes in the common iliac region beyond the ureteral junction were present in 13.3%. Limited or standard lymph node resection would have ignored 73.2 and 56.6% of lymph node metastases, respectively. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopy is suitable for broad identification of SLN metastasis, and targeted resection of these lymph nodes significantly limits the risk of extended surgical resection whilst maintaining the accuracy of the information.

Prospective comparison of 3 gamma-probes for sentinel lymph node detection in 200 breast cancer patients.

UNLABELLED: Previous reports have shown that axillary sentinel lymph node (ASLN) radiodetection allows accurate axillary staging for patients with early breast cancer. Radioguided surgery implies the use of a gamma-probe to count the emitted radioactivity of marked ASLNs. Several gamma-probes are commercially available, each with its own properties. The clinical impact of the type of gamma-probe used for ASLN radiodetection remains to be evaluated. METHODS: Three commercially available gamma-probes were evaluated: a scintillator with a bismuth germanate crystal (probe A), a semiconductor with a cadmium telluride crystal (probe B), and a semiconductor with a cadmium zinc telluride crystal (probe C). Two hundred patients with early breast cancer were prospectively enrolled to undergo ASLN radiodetection and axillary lymphadenectomy. ASLN mapping consisted of injecting (99m)Tc-sulfur-colloid around the tumor. For each patient, sentinel lymph nodes were counted successively with the 3 probes and the sensitivity of each gamma-probe was determined from ASLN residual activity. The results of detection rates and false-negative rates for each probe were compared. RESULTS: Mean residual ASLN activity was 52 kBq (range, 0.07-189 kBq). Sensitivity was compared among the 3 probes and found to be best for probe A. The detection rate of probe A was significantly better than that of probe B (93% vs. 86%, P = 0.05) but not different from that of probe C (93% vs. 90%). No differences in false-negative rates were observed among the 3 probes. CONCLUSION: ASLN detection rate depends on the type of gamma-probe used. Because failure to detect the ASLN leads to complete axillary lymphadenectomy, involving local morbidity and other sequelae, the type of gamma-probe must be considered important for sentinel lymph node radiodetection.

Feasibility and benefit of fluorine 18-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose-guided surgery in the management of radioiodine-negative differentiated thyroid carcinoma metastases.

BACKGROUND: Fluorine 18-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography ((18)F-FDG PET) can be used to visualize metastases in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma that does not take up radioiodine ((131)I). This study was aimed at evaluating the feasibility of (18)F-FDG radio-guided surgery in patients with radioiodine-negative differentiated thyroid cancer. METHODS: Ten patients received a mean activity of 265 MBq of (18)F-FDG 30 minutes before operation. Radioactivity uptake (counts per second [cps], with a pretime of 10 seconds) in tumor and normal tissues was measured before and after resection. RESULTS: Patients with 1 to 5 foci detected by FDG-PET were included in the study. Six of these patients were injected with recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) preoperatively. Abnormal findings detected by preoperative (18)F-FDG PET were also detected with the gamma probe in all patients. The mean tumor activity in vivo was 3,272 cps, and tumor-to-neck and tumor-to-shoulder ratios were, respectively, 1.40 and 1.73. Tumor resection was incomplete in 3 patients. When resection was complete, mean radioactivity at the tumor site was decreased by 22%. The ex vivo mean tumor-to-normal tissue ratio was 2.4. All positive tissues detected with the probe were confirmed histologically to be differentiated thyroid cancer. The surgeon's hands were exposed to 90 to 270 microSv. CONCLUSIONS: These results show the feasibility and benefit of (18)F-FDG radio-guided surgery with a gamma probe in the management of differentiated thyroid cancer patients with radioiodine-negative recurrence.

Prospective comparison of two gamma probes for intraoperative detection of 18F-FDG: in vitro assessment and clinical evaluation in differentiated thyroid cancer patients with iodine-negative recurrence.

PURPOSE: This study was aimed at evaluating the spatial resolution and sensitivity of two hand-held gamma probes. Radioguided surgery was tested in seven patients with iodine-negative differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) recurrence using (18)F-FDG PET. METHODS: Two gamma probes were evaluated: Clerad's GammaSup with a collimated CsI(Tl) scintillator and Novelec's Modelo2 with a BGO scintillator. Five measurement tests were performed following the NEMA guidelines (NU3-2004). Radioguided surgery was performed in patients with recurrent DTC and abnormal (18)F-FDG uptake on preoperative (18)F-FDG PET images. Patients were injected with rTSH 2 days before surgery. A mean activity of 211 MBq of (18)F-FDG was injected 60 min before surgery. In vivo and ex vivo counts were recorded for suspected tumours and normal tissue. RESULTS: Spatial resolution was higher with the CsI(Tl) than with the BGO detector: 20.2-40.6 mm vs 20.6-55.3 mm from 0 to 20 mm depth. Sensitivity in air and water and through side shielding was higher for BGO but the signal-to-noise ratio was 88 and 22 with the BGO compared to 131 and 76 with the CsI(Tl) at 10 and 30 mm depth. Median in vivo SNR (tumour/non-tumour ratio) was 1.8 with both the BGO and the CsI(Tl) detector, while ex vivo ratios of 2.3 and 2.1, respectively, were obtained. Radioguided surgery allowed detection of all of the tumours identified by (18)F-FDG PET images. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated the feasibility of high-energy photon detection with a conventional scintillator equipped with a collimator. The CsI(TI) probe detected more true events from background than did the BGO detector during surgery.

Therapeutic impact of 18FDG-PET/CT in the management of iodine-negative recurrence of differentiated thyroid carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: 18-F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography ((18)FDG-PET) is useful in the detection of iodine-negative differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). The aim of this prospective study was to assess therapeutic impact of (18)FDG-PET imaging using a PET/computed tomography (CT) system in patients with iodine-negative recurrence of DTC. METHODS: From 2002 to 2006, patients with recurrence of DTC diagnosed by elevated thyroglobulin level and negative 131-I whole-body scan were included. RESULTS: Forty-five patients (31 women, 14 men), with a mean age of 55 years, with 36 papillary, 5 follicular, and 4 Hürthle carcinomas, were studied. All patients had previously undergone total thyroidectomy and postoperative thyroid remnant ablation with 131-I. The findings of (18)FDG-PET/CT were positive in 31 patients (68.8%) and negative in 14 (32.2%). Results were true positive in 24 of 31 patients. The sensitivity, positive predictive value, and accuracy of (18)FDG-PET/CT were 63%, 77%, and 53%, respectively. Twenty patients were operated on, 19 had neck surgery with mediastinal lymph node dissection (1 case) and lung resection (1 case), and 1 underwent lung resection. Seven patients had a stimulated thyroglobulin level <1 ng/mL. CONCLUSION: (18)FDG-PET/CT is able to select patients who can benefit from surgery. Normalization of thyroglobulin is observed in one third of operated patients.

Validation of axillary sentinel lymph node detection in the staging of early lobular invasive breast carcinoma: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Previous reports have shown that regional lymph node involvement in patients with early-stage breast carcinoma can be evaluated by resection of axillary sentinel lymph nodes (ASLN). Axillary lymphadenectomy may be unnecessary in the absence of ASLN involvement. In the current study, the authors compared the results of ASLN resection in patients with lobular invasive carcinoma (LIC) with the results from patients with ductal invasive carcinoma (DIC) in terms of detection rates and false-negative rates. METHODS: For ASLN detection, technetium 99m sulfur-colloid and patent blue were injected around the tumor. Each patient underwent both ASLN resection and complete axillary lymphadenectomy. Detection rates and false-negative rates were evaluated in patients with LIC and in patients with DIC. RESULTS: Two hundred forty-three patients with invasive, early-stage breast carcinoma were enrolled in the study (208 patients with DIC and 35 patients with LIC). The median patient age, pathologic tumor size, hormone receptor status, and rates of involved lymph nodes were equivalent for both groups. ASLN detection and false-negative rates did not differ for patients with LIC and patients with DIC. CONCLUSIONS: The ASLN detection rate was not dependent on the pathologic type of invasive carcinoma. Pathologic examination of ASLN in patients with LIC and in patients with DIC predicted axillary lymph node status with the same predictive value in terms of lymph node metastasis. For patients with LIC, ASLN examination overestimated the rate of micrometastasis as diagnosed by immunohistochemical techniques. These results will require confirmation in larger studies.