Selective Sentinel Lymphadenectomy for Human Solid Cancer [Paperback]

First book to apply the concept of SSL to the majority of human cancers

Revolutionary new concept that might significantly transform surgical cancer treatment

Focuses on cancer metastasis and explores the biological frontier of micro metastasis

Includes illustrations by experts in the field on how to successfully perform SSL

In human solid cancer, the lymph node (LN) status is the most important prognostic indicator for the clinical outcome of patients. Recent developments in the sentinel lymph node (SLN) concept and technology have resulted in the application of this revolutionary approach to define the first draining or SLN to which the cancer may have metastasized. The underlying thesis in solid cancer biology is that metastasis generally starts in an orderly progression, spreading through the lymphatic channels to the SLN in the nearest LN basin. Thus, the logical approach is to harvest that specific SLN for thorough analysis. Because a tumorfree SLN is usually associated with a negative residual LN basin, a negative SLN is an excellent indication that micrometastasis has not occurred in the regional LNs. When the SLN is involved, it is unknown whether or not metastasis is limited only to the SLN or if the disease has spread to the remainder of the nodal basin. For this reason, if a SLN is positive, a complete lymph node dissection is recommended. Therefore, selective sentinel lymphadenectomy (SSL) should be considered as a staging procedure so that patients with negative SLNs (about 80%) may be spared an extensive LN dissection. Malignant melanoma has been proven to be the most ideal tumor model to study the role of SLN. Subsequently, SSL has been applied to breast cancer, colon cancer and other types of solid cancer. The multidisciplinary approach encompassing the surgeon, nuclear medicine physician, and pathologist is the key to such a successful procedure. Such a team cal³