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The impact of inguinal lymph node micrometastases in patients with vulvar cancer

  • Gynecologic Oncology
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Inguinofemoral metastases are a major determinant of vulvar cancer relapse. Until today, the impact of micrometastases of inguinal nodes on local recurrence rates of patients with vulvar cancer remains unknown. The purpose of this retrospective study is to evaluate the rates of micrometastases in a series of patients with vulvar cancer treated with radical vulvectomy and inguinofemoral LND and to assess the probability of cancer relapse among this specific category.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective observational study on patients with vulvar cancer who attended the gynaecological department of Anticancer Hospital of St. Savvas between January 1989 and January 2007. Ultra-staging of lymph nodes for micrometastases was performed after cutting the remaining specimens with a microtome in multiple slices of 3 μm. Subsequently they were stained with traditional hematoxylin and eosin and CK AE1/AE3 antibodies for immunohistochemichal analysis.

Results

Ninety-two patients with primary vulvar malignancies were included in the present retrospective study. Ultrastaging of the lymph nodes revealed micrometastases in five patients (5.4%). Neither the duration of the procedure, nor the number of retrieved lymph nodes was directly associated with the presence of micrometastases. The patients were followed up for more than 5 years. Sixteen recurrences (17.4%) occurred during this period. The presence of micrometastases did not influence the recurrence rate (OR 3.57, 95% CI 0.55–23.36, p = 0.184).

Conclusion

Ultrastaging of inguinal nodes does not seem to add any benefit in the prediction of local recurrence rates. Future multicenter studies are needed in the field to corroborate our findings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Third Department of Ob/Gyn, Attikon University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 66, Dimitriou Gounari Str., 15124, Marousi, Greece

    Grigoris Derdelis & Vasilios Pergialiotis

  2. Second Department of Gynaecology, St. Savas Anticancer Hospital, 171 Alexandras Avenue, 11522, Athens, Greece

    Emmanouil Terzakis

  3. First Histopathology Department, Athens Medical School, Laiko Hospital, Athens, Greece

    Nektarios Koufopoulos, Ioanna Martzoukou, Chara Gakiopoulou, Andreas Lazaris & Efstratios Patsouris

Authors
  1. Grigoris Derdelis
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  2. Vasilios Pergialiotis
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  3. Emmanouil Terzakis
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  4. Nektarios Koufopoulos
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  5. Ioanna Martzoukou
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  6. Chara Gakiopoulou
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  7. Andreas Lazaris
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  8. Efstratios Patsouris
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Correspondence to Grigoris Derdelis.

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We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Derdelis, G., Pergialiotis, V., Terzakis, E. et al. The impact of inguinal lymph node micrometastases in patients with vulvar cancer. Arch Gynecol Obstet 295, 435–438 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-016-4233-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-016-4233-4

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