Sentinel lymph node navigation surgery for gastric cancer: Does it really benefit the patient?

• Published in: World journal of gastroenterology : WJG Vol. 22; no. 10; pp. 2894 - 2899
• Main Authors: Tani, Tohru, Sonoda, Hiromichi, Tani, Masaji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Baishideng Publishing Group Inc 14.03.2016
• Subjects: basin;endo; cancer;Quality; Gastrectomy - adverse effects; Gastrectomy - methods; Gastroscopy; Humans; Laparoscopy; life;Sentinel; lymph; Lymph Node Excision - adverse effects; Lymph Node Excision - methods; Lymphatic Metastasis; navigation; node; Predictive Value of Tests; Quality of Life; Risk Factors; Sentinel; Sentinel Lymph Node - pathology; Sentinel Lymph Node - surgery; Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy; Stomach Neoplasms - pathology; Stomach Neoplasms - psychology; Stomach Neoplasms - surgery; surgery;gastric; Topic Highlight; Treatment Outcome; Sentinel lymph node basin; Gastric cancer; Sentinel lymph node navigation surgery; Endoscopic and laparoscopic treatment; Quality of life
• ISSN: 1007-9327; 2219-2840; 2219-2840
• DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i10.2894

Sentinel lymph node(SLN) navigation surgery is accepted as a standard treatment procedure for malignant melanoma and breast cancer. However, the benefit of reduced lymphadenectomy based on SLN examination remains unclear in cases of gastric cancer. Here, we review previous studies to determine whether SLN navigation surgery is beneficial for gastric cancer patients. Recently, a large-scale prospective study from the Japanese Society of Sentinel Node Navigation Surgery reported that the endoscopic dual tracer method, using a dye and radioisotope for SLN biopsy, was safe and effective when applied to cases of superficial and relatively small gastric cancers. SLN mapping with SLN basin dissection was preferred for early gastric cancer since it is minimally invasive. However, previous studies reported that limited gastrectomy and lymphadenectomy may not improve the patient’s postoperative quality of life(QOL). As a result, the benefit of SLN navigation surgery for gastric cancer patients, in terms of their QOL, is limited. Thus, endoscopic and laparoscopic limited gastrectomy combined with SLN navigation surgery has the potential to become the standard minimally invasive surgery in early gastric cancer.