Sentinel Lymph Node Study: Its Significance In Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Background: Intraoperative SLNB using methylene blue is technically simple and quick (usually within 10 minutes of operating time) procedure. It allows the pathologist to focus attention on a limited number of nodes (1-5) for detailed focused analysis, which saves time and is less costly. Methods: Acolonoscopic biopsy-proven diagnosis of clinical stage I and II colon or rectal cancer, were prospectively studied. A standard oncological en-bloc resection of the neoplasm and the regional LNs was then performed. The SLNs (sentinel lymph node biopsy) were dissected from the surgical specimen immediately after the completion of the operation and were sent separately to the pathology department together with the specimen. The SLNs were submitted in their entirety for microscopic examination. Results: SLNB is highly accurate because it accurately predicts the regional lymph node status in 92.85% of cases. The absence of metastases in the SLN accurately predicts the status of the non-SLNs 85.7% of the time. Conclusion: SLNB improves the staging of patients with colon cancer by upstaging 14.29 % of patients, who may benefit from further adjuvant chemotherapy.