Objective: To determine the reliability of pretherapeutic laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy in cervical cancer as a function of lymph node recurrences according to initial lymph node status: 1) to establish the false negative rate by analyzing lymph node recurrence in patients N-, 2) to verify treatment adequacy in patients N+ by comparing the rate of node recurrence to initial node positivity.
Patients and methods: Retrospective analysis of a prospectively registered patient database. One hundred and ninety patients treated by a combination of radiotherapy and surgery for cervical cancer stages 1b to 2b in 95% of cases had undergone, from March 1992 to June 2003, a previous laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy. Median follow-up was 40 months (range: 3-126 months).
Results: Initial lymph node positivity (N+) was found in 79 patients (42%). Fourteen patients (7.4%) presented with lymph node recurrence, all of whom have died from disease. Lymph node recurrence was found in 4/111 patients N- (3.6%) and in 10/79 patients N+ (12.7%), of whom 8/10 occurred outside the radiation fields.
Conclusion: With a very low false negative rate, accuracy of the laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy in the determination of lymphatic spread in cervical cancer is confirmed. It can still be considered the gold standard despite recent developments (e.g. sentinel lymph node determination) to which they should be compared. Treatment adequacy in patients N+ is confirmed.