Role of sentinel node biopsy in early-stage cervical cancer in the therapeutic strategy

Early-stage cervical cancer (IA2 and IB1) treatment consists in surgery with a radical colpohysterectomy associated to a systematic pelvic lymphadenectomy more or less a paraaortic lymphadenectomy (Wertheim-Meigs surgery). Pelvic lymph node involvement is the main independent prognostic factor and justifies an adjuvant therapy. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) procedure allows a reliable evaluation of the lymph node status thanks to an accurate histologic analysis. This procedure is still not validated in practice, which means the bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy is systematically done whatever the lymph node status is. Nevertheless the purpose of the SLN biopsy in cervical cancer does not consist in avoiding an unnecessary lymphadenectomy, which is not really associated with a major morbidity. Actually, a better initial stadification would allow to fit to the risk of recurrence not only the radicality of the surgery, but also the adjuvant therapy. The morbidity of a radical surgery could be limited for good prognosis patients and avoided for the benefit of a concomitant chemoradiotherapy. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.