前哨淋巴结活检在食管癌手术中的应用

前哨淋巴结（SLN）是原发肿瘤发生淋巴结转移时首先累及到的淋巴结,SLN导航手术在黑色素瘤和乳腺癌中的应用得到了广泛证实.近年来,在胃肠道肿瘤手术中的应用也得到越来越高的重视.然而,与其他肿瘤相比,由于食管癌特殊的解剖学部位和淋巴引流途径,SLN在食管癌手术中应用的有效性和可行性存在较大争议.淋巴结微转移是影响无淋巴结转移食管癌患者预后的重要因素,SLN微转移的检测对食管癌治疗方案的制定具有重要意义.本文简要论述近年来SLN活检在食管癌手术中的应用,并阐述其临床意义.

Application of sentinel lymph node biopsy in esophageal cancer

The sentinel lymph node （SLN） is defined as the lymph node （s） first receiving lymphatic drainage from the site of primary tumor.The application of SLN navigation surgery has been widely confirmed in both melanoma and breast cancer.In recent years,the concept of SLN has gained high attention in gastrointestinal tumors.However,the validity and feasibility of the SLN concept remains controversial for esophageal cancer due to its special anatomical sites and lymphatic drainage pathways.Lymph node micrometastasis is an important prognostic factor in esophageal cancer patients without lymph node metastasis.Detection of micrometastases in SLN of esophageal cancer plays an important role in determining the treatment options.In this article,we make a brief discussion on the application of SLN biopsy inesophageal surgery and explain its clinical significance.