Article Text
Abstract
Introduction Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy for endometrial cancer in early stages has become an accepted alternative to pelvic lymphadenectomy. We evaluated the risk factors for ‘empty node packet’ (ENP) in endometrial cancer.
Methods We retrospectively analyzed a series of 489 women who underwent SLN mapping for endometrial cancer from November 2012 to December 2023. ENP was defined as a surgical specimen identified as a SLN intraoperatively, but without any lymph node tissue in the final pathological analysis.
Results Forty-eigth (9.8%) cases recorded ENP. Age, histology, histologic grade, stage (I/II vs. III), myometrial invasion, lympho-vascular space invasion, open or minimally invasive approach and tracer type (indocyanine green vs. blue dye) were not associated with ENP. Deep myometrial invasion and BMI were associated with an increased risk for ENP. However, BMI was the only variable that maintained the risk of ENP in multivariate analysis (HR:1.05; 95%CI: 1.004-1.101, p=0.034).
Conclusion/Implications BMI was related to an increased risk factor for ENP after SLN dissection.