Pelvic and aortic lymph node metastasis in epithelial ovarian cancer

OBJECTIVE: The appropriate management of advanced ovarian cancer has been controversial in recent years. There are no adequate data about the importance of lymphadenectomy and the appropriate sites for lymph node assessment. We sought to evaluate the distribution, size, and number of pelvic and aortic lymph node metastases in patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of 116 patients with stage IIIC or IV epithelial ovarian carcinoma treated at Mayo Clinic who underwent systematic bilateral pelvic and aortic lymphadenectomy between 1996 and 2000. RESULTS: Eighty-six (78%) of 110 patients who underwent pelvic lymphadenectomy were found to have nodal metastases in 422 (16%) of 2705 pelvic nodes that were removed. Eighty-four (84%) of 100 patients had documented aortic lymph node metastases in 456 (35%) of 1313 aortic nodes that were removed. Fifty-five (59%) of 94 patients had bilateral metastatic pelvic and aortic lymph nodes and bilateral aortic lymphadenectomy was conducted in 53 (72%) of 74 patients. The most representative group for detection of nodal metastases was the aortic group (83%) followed by the external iliac group (59%) and the obturator nodes (53%). There was no significant difference between the mean size of positive (1.8 cm) and negative nodes (1.6 cm). Thirty-seven patients had unilateral tumor, and 1 patient (7%) had contralateral node metastasis. CONCLUSION: The incidence of positive nodes bilaterally and positive high aortic nodes indicates the need for bilateral pelvic and aortic node dissection (extending above the inferior mesenteric artery) in all patients regardless of laterality of the primary tumor.     

Anatomical and pathological study of retroperitoneal nodes in endometrial cancer

Benedetti-Panici P, Maneschi F, Cutillo G, D'Andrea G, Manci N, Rabitti C, Scambia G, Mancuso S. Anatomical and pathological study of retroperitoneal nodes in endometrial cancer. Int J Gynecol Cancer 1998; 8 : 322–327.
To assess the patterns of lymphatic spread in endometrial carcinoma, data from 91 endometrial cancer patients (surgical FIGO stage I: 59; II: 12; III–IV: 20) who underwent systematic pelvic and aortic lymphadenectomy were analyzed. The median number of nodes removed was 27 aortic (range 15–57) and 31 pelvic (range 20–68) nodes. Positive nodes were found in 16 patients (18%), seven having pelvic, one aortic, and eight both pelvic and aortic metastasis. The median number of positive nodes was three (range 1–29) aortic and two (range 1–18) pelvic nodes. Isolated pelvic node metastasis was observed in seven patients and aortic metastasis in one patient.
Pre-paracaval, pre-paraortic and intercavoaortic, with superficial obturator, external iliac and common iliac were the node groups most frequently involved. These nodes may be considered primarily invaded by the tumor. The higher prevalence of pelvic with respect to aortic metastasis, and the low risk of isolated aortic spread, suggest that endometrial cancer spreads preferentially to the pelvic area. Multivariate analysis showed that depth of myoinvasion and adnexal metastasis were independent factors predicting the risk of lymphatic spread. The risk of aortic spread was also predicted by the pelvic node status. These data may be useful for tailoring lymphadenectomy.     

Lymph node metastasis in stage I ovarian cancer]

One hundred and sixteen cases of stage I Ovarian cancer from nine hospitals in all the China during Sept. 1982-April 1991 were investigated for their lymph node metastasis. There were 70 epithelial tumors, 36 malignant germ cell tumors, 8 from gonadal stroma and 2 undifferentiated. In 89 patients the ovarian tumor was confined to one ovary (stage Ia); in 6 cases both ovaries were involved (stage Ib); 21 cases was documented stage Ic. Systemic lymphadenectomy covering all pelvic groups of node together with aortic lymph node accomplished in 82 cases. In the remaining 34 cases only pelvic lymph node dissection was performed. There was 10.3 percent incidence of lymphatic metastasis in this series. The most common lesion was serous cystadenocarcinoma. All patients were follow-up for at least half year. The mortality rate in patients without lymph node metastasis was 2.8%, but 8.3% for those with lymph node metastasis. The clinical significance of retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy in early ovarian cancer was discussed.     

Microscopic ovarian metastasis of the uterine cervical cancer

Six hundred forty-seven cases of carcinoma of the uterine cervix with FIGO stages Ib or more were initially treated with hysterectomy at Kyushu University Hospital from 1973 to 1987. In these, 597 cases could be pathologically reviewed for ovarian metastasis. In these 597 cases, 335 were stage Ib, 71 IIa, 185 IIb, and 6 IIIb. Only 3 (0.5%) of 597 showed ovarian metastasis. All 3 cases were stage IIb. None of stage Ib cancer cases had ovarian metastasis. One (0.19%) of 524 squamous cell carcinomas metastasized to the ovary, whereas 2 (5.5%) of 36 pure adenocarcinomas revealed ovarian metastasis. Interestingly, all ovarian metastatic lesions were microscopic in size and found in the ovarian hilus. As for the primary lesion, all cases with ovarian metastasis showed deep myometrial invasion, corpus invasion, and lymphatic permeation. Two cases showed pelvic lymph node metastases and positive peritoneal washing cytology. From the results of our study, it can be said that it is fairly safe to preserve the ovary at the time of radical operation in squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix, but it may not be safe to preserve the ovary in pure adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix.     

Retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis in patients with ovarian cancer

From 1979 to 1987 retroperitoneal lymph node dissection was performed at the Tokyo University Hospital in 41 cases (pelvic lymph node biopsy was done in 4 cases, pelvic lymphadenectomy in 23 cases, pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomy up to the renal vessels in 14 cases) of Stage Ia to IV ovarian cancer following cytoreductive surgery. The incidence of retroperitoneal positive nodes was 11.1% (2/18) in Stage I, 50.0% (5/10) in Stage II, 50.0% (5/10) in Stage III and 0% (0/3) in Stage IV (FIGO criteria without considering the pathologic findings of retroperitoneal lymph nodes). The positive rate of lymph node involvement in Stage II and Stage III was significantly higher than that in Stage I. The tumors involving both ovaries were more likely to metastasize to retroperitoneal lymph nodes. Enlargement of tumors and increased ascites were not the risk factors of retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis. These data suggest that the occurrence of retroperitoneal lymphatic spread in ovarian cancer is comparable to that in uterine cancer and increased by involvement of both ovaries and extension to other pelvic tissues.     

Lymphadenectomy in ovarian cancer

Current guidelines for the surgical staging of ovarian cancer include the removal of retroperitoneal lymph nodes (pelvic and aortic). In most centres this is achieved by means of laparotomy, but advanced laparoscopic techniques have also been performed and still further prospective controlled studies with long-term follow-up are necessary to validate the efficacy. Lymph node sampling, short of complete dissection, should be avoided because it may be insufficient to detect metastasis. In any case, laparoscopic lymphadenectomy as well as open surgery, should be in the hands of properly trained subspecialists in gynaecologic oncology. Of 97 patients with ovarian carcinoma studied in our hospital, 68% were treated by means of complete staging laparotomy (FIGO). Lymphadenectomy was spared in 14 cases with stage I tumours (mainly serous) without changes in overall survival. In 15% metastases in pelvic lymph nodes were present. In the same proportion aortic lymph nodes were positive. In 5.5%, aortic metastases were present in the absence of pelvic involvement.     

Does the size of pelvic lymph nodes predict metastatic involvement in patients with endometrial cancer?

Whether the size of a retroperitoneal lymph node reflects its status is not clear. We measured the size of 125 positive and 160 negative pelvic lymph nodes in 32 consecutive patients with node-positive endometrial cancer. The measurements were compared with those of 143 pelvic lymph nodes of five randomly selected patients with endometrial cancer without node involvement. Overall, positive lymph nodes were larger than negative lymph nodes in both node-positive patients and node- negative controls ( P < 0.01). There was a positive correlation between the size of positive lymph nodes and the size of the metastasis therein ( P < 0.01). However, 68 of 125 (54%) positive lymph nodes measured less than 10 mm in maximum diameter, while 46 of 160 (29%) negative lymph nodes in node-positive patients measured more than 10 mm in maximum diameter. The metastasis was detected in more than 50% of step-serial sections in only 74% of positive lymph nodes. These data suggest that the size of a lymph node does not reliably reflect its status. Thus, these nodes may be missed if only enlarged nodes are removed. If only one section of a lymph node is performed, at least 26% of metastases will be missed.     

Patterns of pelvic and paraaortic lymph node involvement in ovarian cancer

One hundred eighty patients with ovarian cancer underwent complete pelvic lymphadenectomy (n = 75) or pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomy (n = 105). Twenty-one patients underwent a preoperative biopsy of the scalene lymph nodes. The incidence of positive lymph nodes was 24% in stage I (n = 37), 50% in stage II (n = 14), 74% in stage III (n = 114), and 73% in stage IV (n = 15). Of the 105 patients who underwent pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomy, 13 (12%) had positive pelvic and negative paraaortic nodes and 10 (9%) had positive paraaortic and negative pelvic nodes. Positive scalene nodes were found in four patients (19%) later shown to have stage IV disease. One hundred forty patients were studied for number of involved nodes and node groups, size of nodal metastases, residual tumor, and survival. Of the 81 patients with positive nodes, most had only one or two positive node groups or one to three positive individual nodes. A few patients had seven to eight involved node groups with up to 44 positive nodes. Greater numbers of positive nodes were found in stage III than stage IV. The size of the largest nodal metastasis was not related to the clinical stage or survival, but did correlate with the number of positive nodes. Stage III patients with no residual tumor had a significantly lower rate of lymph node involvement than those with tumor residual (P less than 0.01). Actuarial 5-year survival rates of patients with stage III disease and no, one, or more than one positive nodes were 69, 58, and 28%, respectively.     

Pretherapeutic scalene lymph node biopsy in ovarian cancer

To study scalene lymph node involvement in ovarian cancer, 37 patients with this disease underwent pretherapeutic open sampling of the left scalene fat tissue. Only 1 patient had a palpable supraclavicular mass. Positive scalene nodes were found in 7 (22%) of 32 patients with stage III or IV disease. Three of four patients with positive scalene nodes also had both positive pelvic and positive paraaortic nodes; one patient with stage IV disease had negative pelvic and paraaortic nodes. Demonstration of scalene node involvement per se currently does not alter the management of patients with ovarian cancer, although patients with occult involvement of the scalene nodes could be considered ineligible for intraperitoneal chemotherapy.     

Endometrioid carcinoma of the ovary presenting with an enlarged inguinal lymph node without evidence of abdominal carcinomatosis.

It is generally recognized that ovarian cancer tends to remain intraabdominal even in advanced cases and that dissemination is usually by invasion of adjacent viscera, diffuse intraperitoneal implantation, and metastatic involvement of aortic and pelvic lymph nodes. Primary ovarian lymphatic drainage occurs via the infundibulopelvic ligament to the paraaortic nodes. The presence of an ovarian tumor extending into adjacent pelvic viscera may allow direct lymphatic continuity with inguinal, external, and common iliac lymph nodes. In the absence of such extension it is traditionally believed that the drainage via the infundibulopelvics is so important that only with its blockage, presumably by tumor emboli, can retrograde drainage to pelvic and inguinal nodes occur. We report a case of a patient presenting with a large metastatic inguinal lymph node from a primary epithelial ovarian cancer without evidence of disseminated intraabdominal disease or gross evidence of pelvic or paraaortic lymph node involvement.     

Lymph node metastasis in ovarian cancer: difference between serous and non-serous primary tumors

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the lymph node sites most susceptible to involvement relative to primary tumor histology in ovarian cancer. METHODS: The locations of metastatic lymph nodes were investigated in 208 patients with primary ovarian cancer who underwent systemic lymphadenectomy covering both the pelvic and para-aortic regions. RESULTS: Lymph node metastasis was present in 12.8% (20/156) of patients with stage I (pT1M0), 48.6% (18/37) with stage II (pT2M0), and 60% (9/15) with stage III (pT3M0) disease, thus in 22.6% (47/208) of all study patients. Isolated para-aortic nodal involvement was present in 23.3% (14/60) of patients with serous tumor and 4.1% (6/148) of those with non-serous tumor (P = 0.00002). In an analysis of 35 positive nodes from 25 patients with up to 3 positive nodes, 86.4% (19/22) of metastatic lymph nodes from patients with serous tumor were found in the para-aortic region, with 14 positive nodes located above the inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) and 5 below it, whereas metastasis to para-aortic lymph nodes accounted for 53.8% (7/13) of metastatic lymph nodes from patients with non-serous tumor (P = 0.0334). CONCLUSIONS: The locations of metastatic lymph nodes in ovarian cancer depend upon the histologic type of the primary cancer. In cases of serous tumor, the para-aortic region, particularly above the IMA, is the prime site for the earliest lymph node metastasis. However, the likelihood of pelvic node involvement is almost equal to that of para-aortic node involvement in cases of non-serous tumor.     

Pattern of lymph node metastases in clinically unilateral stage I invasive epithelial ovarian carcinomas

PURPOSE: There is controversy regarding the pattern of lymphatic spread in unilateral stage I invasive ovarian carcinomas. The purpose of this study is to describe the incidence and distribution of lymph node (LN) metastases in ovarian carcinomas clinically confined to one ovary. METHODS: Ninety-six patients with disease visibly confined to one ovary were identified. Pathology reports were reviewed to identify metastatic LN involvement, number of involved nodes, and their locations. Patients with gross disease in the pelvis or abdomen or those who had grossly positive LNs removed for debulking were excluded from this review. RESULTS: Fourteen of ninety-six patients (15%) had microscopically positive LNs on pathologic review. All of these 14 patients had grade 3 tumors. Grade 3 tumors were more commonly seen in LN-positive versus LN-negative patients (P < 0.001). Pelvic nodes were positive in 7 patients (50%), paraaortic nodes in 5 patients (36%), and both in 2 patients (14%). Forty-two patients had LN sampling only on the side ipsilateral to the neoplastic ovary, 4 of whom (10%) had LN metastases. Fifty-four patients had bilateral sampling performed, 10 of whom (19%) had LN metastases. Of these 10 patients, isolated ipsilateral LN metastases were seen in 5 (50%) cases. Isolated contralateral LN metastases were seen in 3 (30%) cases, and bilateral metastases were seen in 2 (20%). CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort of patients with clinical stage I ovarian carcinoma with disease limited to one ovary, bilateral LN sampling increased the identification of nodal metastases. Ipsilateral sampling may result in the understaging of patients. Bilateral pelvic and paraaortic LN sampling is recommended to accurately stage ovarian carcinoma.     

Lymph node size in uterine cancer: a revisit

To study whether lymph node size is a good predictor of lymph node metastasis in uterine cancer, we reviewed the pathologic sections of pelvic and para-aortic lymph node removed from uterine cancer patients who underwent surgical staging in our institution from January 1994 to December 2004. The long axis of each individual node was measured. Out of 4280 total nodes obtained (178 cases), 86 nodes (28 cases) were positive for metastatic cancer (2.0% of total nodes or 15.7% of cases). Among the positive nodes, 11 nodes (12.8%) had nodal long axis <5 mm, 34 nodes (39.5%) had long axis of 5-9 mm, and 32 (37.2%) and 9 nodes (10.5%) had long axes of 10-19 mm and >20 mm, respectively. More than half (52.3%) of these positive nodal long axes were less than 10 mm. At lymph node size of 10 mm that was the common point of reference for pathologic enlargement, the sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive value of lymph node to predict metastatic cancer were 47.7%, 76.7%, 98.6%, and 4.0%, respectively. From these findings, we tended to conclude that lymph node size is not a good predictor of lymph node metastasis in uterine cancer.     

Retrograde Lymphatic Spread: A Likely Route for Metastatic Ovarian Cancers of Gastrointestinal Origin

In order to outline the pathways of gastrointestinal malignancies metastasizing to the ovaries, we reviewed 103 cases of metastatic ovarian tumors, and also performed para-aortic lymph node sampling on 11 patients at operation for metastatic ovarian tumors. Of the 103 patients, 74% (26/35) with gastric cancer and 67% (45/67) with colorectal cancer had lymph node metastasis at or before the diagnosis of ovarian tumor. Intraperitoneal metastases presented in 49 and 42% of patients with gastric and with colorectal cancers, respectively. Twenty-three percent of gastric cancer patients and 25% of colorectal cancer patients presented with both lymph node and intraperitoneal metastases. The ovary was the first or among the early metastatic organs diagnosed in 51 of the 53 patients with metachronous ovarian metastases. Only 4 patients with colorectal cancer and none with gastric cancer showed parenchymal organ metastases. These 4 patients also showed intraperitoneal lesions, and 3 of these 4 patients had node metastasis. Among the 11 patients who underwent prospective para-aortic lymph node sampling during operation for the ovarian tumors, only 1 had enlarged para-aortic nodes depicted by computed tomography, 2 had grossly enlarged (≥1.5 cm) para-aortic lymph nodes noted at surgery, and 6 of the 7 patients with gastric cancer and all 3 with colorectal cancer had metastatic nodes histologically. Among the 58 nodes taken from these patients, 67% showed metastatic foci. We concluded that lymph node metastasis is frequently seen in patients with metastatic ovarian tumors of gastrointestinal origin, and hypothesized that retrograde lymphatic spread is a likely route for the metastases.     

Retroperitoneal lymphatic involvement with epithelial ovarian tumors of low malignant potential

A comprehensive understanding of retroperitoneal lymphatic involvement is lacking in tumors of low malignant potential. This study was undertaken to evaluate retroperitoneal lymphatic involvement in patients with ovarian tumors of low malignant potential. One hundred seventy-one patients were diagnosed with epithelial ovarian tumors of low malignant potential between 1979 and 1989. Thirty-four (20%) of these patients underwent surgical staging which included lymph node sampling. The stage distribution was Stage I in 17 patients (50%), Stage II in 4 patients (12%), and Stage III in 13 patients (38%). The histology of the tumors was serous in 26 patients (76%), mucinous in 7 patients (21%), and seromucinous in 1 patient (3%). The incidence of retroperitoneal lymphatic involvement was 21%. The occurrence of positive pelvic and para-aortic nodes was 17 and 18%, respectively. Patients with localized intraperitoneal disease were upstaged in 22% of the cases based on retroperitoneal lymphatic involvement. Four of twenty-one patients (19%) with intraperitoneal disease confined to the ovary and two of six patients (33%) with intraperitoneal disease confined to the pelvis were upstaged to Stage III as a result of retroperitoneal lymphatic disease. Although the nodal status of patients did not significantly affect survival, those patients with localized intraperitoneal disease and nodal involvement had a higher incidence of recurrence which was statistically significant (P = 0.025). Accordingly, retroperitoneal lymph node sampling at the time of initial laparotomy may provide valuable prognostic information regarding recurrence in patients with tumors of low malignant potential.     

Hematogenous rectal metastasis 20 years after removal of epithelial ovarian cancer

BACKGROUND: Rectal tumors are rarely metastatic. Moreover, hematogenous spread is rare in ovarian cancer whose dissemination frequently occurs through peritoneal or lymphatic ways. CASE: A 55-year-old female presented with a rectal metastasis that appeared 20 years after the treatment of a primary clear cell carcinoma of the ovary. The cytokeratin 7 positive/cytokeratin 20 negative immunophenotype assessed the ovarian origin of the rectal tumor. Because of the integrity of the rectal serosa and the uninvolved mesenteric lymph nodes, we hypothesize our rectal metastasis to come from the hematogenous way. CONCLUSION: This is the first reported case of hematogenous rectal metastasis in epithelial ovarian carcinoma and that, with so late delay.     

Prostate-derived Ets factor is overexpressed in serous epithelial ovarian tumors.

The frequent overexpression of prostate-derived Ets factor (PDEF) mRNA in ovarian cancer has been previously reported. The aim of this study was to evaluate PDEF protein expression in ovarian cancer and how this expression might vary at different stages of epithelial ovarian tumors in comparison to normal ovary. A new rabbit polyclonal antibody to PDEF was prepared, and immunohistochemistry was performed on tissue sections from 12 normal ovaries, 10 cases of benign serous cystadenoma, 17 cases of low malignant potential tumor, 19 cases of stage 1, and 15 cases of advanced stage primary epithelial (serous) ovarian carcinomas and their peritoneal metastases. Expression levels were assessed based on the percentage of positively staining cells and the intensity of staining. All 12 normal ovary and 10 benign serous cystadenoma cases were negative for PDEF expression. In contrast, 6 of 17 (35%) low malignant potential tumors, 5 of 19 (27%) stage 1, and 5 of 15 (33%) advanced stage ovarian tumors stained positive for PDEF expression. Together, these results show frequent overexpression of PDEF protein in epithelial ovarian tumors and its lack of expression in normal ovary and cystadenomas, and this supports a role for PDEF in ovarian tumorigenesis. Furthermore, these results suggest that PDEF is a potential marker and target in ovarian cancer.     

Sentinel node detection in cervical cancer with (99m)Tc-phytate

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of sentinel lymph node (SLN) identification using radioisotopic lymphatic mapping with technetium-99 m-labeled phytate in patients undergoing radical hysterectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy for treatment of early cervical cancer. METHODS: Between July 2001 and February 2003, 56 patients with cervical cancer FIGO stage I (n = 53) or stage II (n = 3) underwent sentinel lymph node detection with preoperative lymphoscintigraphy ((99m)Tc-labeled phytate injected into the uterine cervix, at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock, at a dose of 55-74 MBq in a volume of 0.8 ml) and intraoperative lymphatic mapping with a handheld gamma probe. Radical hysterectomy was aborted in three cases because parametrial invasion was found intraoperatively and we performed only sentinel node resection. The remaining 53 patients underwent radical hysterectomy with complete pelvic lymphadenectomy. Sentinel nodes were detected using a handheld gamma-probe and removed for pathological assessment during the abdominal radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy. RESULTS: One or more sentinel nodes were detected in 52 out of 56 eligible patients (92.8%). A total of 120 SLNs were detected by lymphoscintigraphy (mean 2.27 nodes per patient) and intraoperatively by gamma probe. Forty-four percent of SLNs were found in the external iliac area, 39% in the obturator region, 8.3% in interiliac region, and 6.7% in the common iliac area. Unilateral sentinel nodes were found in thirty-one patients (59%). The remaining 21 patients (41%) had bilateral sentinel nodes. Microscopic nodal metastases were confirmed in 17 (32%) cases. In 10 of these patients, only SLNs had metastases. The 98 sentinel nodes that were negative on hematoxylin and eosin were submitted to cytokeratin immunohistochemical analysis. Five (5.1%) micrometastases were identified with this technique. The sensitivity of the sentinel node was 82.3% (CI 95% = 56.6-96.2) and the negative predictive value was 92.1% (CI 95% = 78.6-98.3). The accuracy of sentinel node in predicting the lymph node status was 94.2%. CONCLUSION: Preoperative lymphoscintigraphy and intraoperative lymphatic mapping with (99m)Tc-labeled phytate are effective in identifying sentinel nodes in patients undergoing radical hysterectomy and to select women in whom lymph node dissection can be avoided.     

Lymphatic mapping and sentinel node identification as related to the primary sites of lymph node metastasis in early stage ovarian cancer

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the primary sites of lymph node (LN) metastasis in patients during the early stage of ovarian cancer. METHODS: Study 1: patients with clinical stage I and II common epithelial ovarian carcinoma (n = 150) underwent systematic retroperitoneal LN dissection of the pelvic and paraaortic areas. The relationship between the incidence and location of LN metastasis and clinical and histological characteristics was examined. Study 2: we studied 11 women with endometrial or fallopian tube tumors. At laparotomy, activated charcoal solution was injected into the unilateral cortex of the ovary. Ten minutes later, the retroperitoneal spaces were opened and charcoal uptake within the pelvic lymph node (PLN) and paraaortic node (PAN) as far as the level of renal vein was examined. RESULTS: Study 1: The incidence of LN metastasis by stage was 6.5% (8/123) in stage I and 40.7% (11/27) in stage II. Among 19 patients with LN metastasis, 14 had only PAN, 2 had only pelvic LN, and 3 had both PAN and PLN metastases. Metastasis was limited to the ipsilateral side in 12 (63%) patients, but was bilateral in 5 (26%) and contralateral to the neoplastic ovary in 2 (11%). Positive peritoneal cytology was significantly (P < 0.05) correlated with lymph node metastasis. Study 2: Lymphatic channels along the ovarian vessels were identified in all injected ovaries. Charcoal was deposited in the LN of all patients. The locations of these nodes included PAN in all patients, common iliac node in three, and external iliac node in one. CONCLUSION: PAN is the primary site of LN metastasis in ovarian cancer. Bilateral PAN dissections are necessary to determine the extent of tumors even in stage I ovarian carcinoma.     

The incidence of isolated para-aortic nodal metastasis in completely staged endometrial cancer patients

Objective

To describe and review the incidence of para-aortic (PA) nodal metastasis in completely staged endometrial cancer patients who are negative for pelvic nodal metastasis.

Methods

Using an institutionally maintained database, we identified all patients with endometrial cancer from 2002 to 2006 who had both pelvic and aortic nodal dissections and determined the rate of isolated para-aortic nodal metastasis in non-malignant (i.e. negative) pelvic nodes.

Results

201 endometrial cancer patients were surgically treated at our institution from 2002 to 2006. 171 patients had both pelvic and PA nodes removed during surgery, and specimens examined by a pathologist. Only 2 (1.2%) had PA nodes that tested positive for malignance (i.e. positive PA nodes) with pelvic nodes that tested negative for malignance (i.e. negative pelvic nodes). The final International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) grade for the endometrial tumor cells in the two patients was “G1” with endometrioid adenocarcinoma and “G3” with endometrioid adenocarcinoma and mucinous differentiation, respectively.

Conclusion

Based on the very low incidence of patients inflicted with endometrial cancer that have positive para-aortic lymph nodes (PALNs) with negative pelvic nodes found both in our literature review (1.5%) and in our own study (1.2%), the addition of PA lymphadenectomy in all patients was found to have minimal diagnostic and therapeutic value. At the present, the role of complete PA lymphadenectomy in all patients with endometrial cancer should be re-examined. Individualized algorithms should be developed based on risk factors and status of pelvic nodes.