Using an existing Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved database, we reviewed the results of all patients who underwent primary surgery with SLN mapping for endometrial cancer from September 2005 to December 2011 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Surgical staging involved total hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and SLN mapping, with additional full pelvic and/or paraaortic lymph node dissection based on attending discretion. All modalities of surgical assessment were included.
Lymphatic mapping was performed in all cases by injecting 1mL of blue dye into the cervical stroma at superficial and deep levels at the 3 and 9 o’clock positions for a total of 4 mL. Blue nodes were dissected and sent as SLNs for pathologic review, as previously described.2 (link) Any suspicious or grossly enlarged nodes, per surgeon’s assessment, were removed and sent separately as non-SLNs.
Clinical patient characteristics, pathologic results, and operative reports were evaluated using the electronic medical record. Adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiation was recommended and given as per physician discretion.