Cervical Carcinoma and Sentinel lymph Node Mapping

Backgrounds: Cervical carcinoma is the second most common type of cancer among women. Effective screening programs can help cancer detection in early stage. Metastasis to lymph nodes is one of the most prognostic factors in patients with early stages. Sentinel lymph node mapping has been widely studied and clinically used for many types of cancer such as breast cancer and melanoma.Material and Method: Two techniques exist for detecting sentinel node in cervical cancer, which are Blue dye and gamma probe with radioactive isotope (99mTC) .although lymphoscintigraphy has many advantages over the stain method. Detecting the sentinel node is performed via laparoscopy or laparotomy. Laparoscopy is better and more accurate.Result: Various researchers have focused on this method and its positive results; its superiority against full lymphadenectomy has been declared in previous studies. Moreover, the role of sentinel lymph nodes biopsy in cervical cancer is still being extensively studied. Sentinel lymph nodes biopsy has a higher accuracy to detect metastasis.Conclusion: So, it can be considered as a more appropriate alternative for pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND), which is a standard technique. Altering the method to a standard clinical method needs in-depth researches and studies.