Published online Mar 14, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i10.2894
Peer-review started: April 24, 2015
First decision: October 14, 2015
Revised: December 16, 2015
Accepted: January 17, 2016
Article in press: January 18, 2016
Published online: March 14, 2016
Processing time: 60 Days and 1.7 Hours
Sentinel lymph node (SLN) navigation surgery is accepted as a standard treatment procedure for malignant melanoma and breast cancer. However, the benefit of reduced lymphadenectomy based on SLN examination remains unclear in cases of gastric cancer. Here, we review previous studies to determine whether SLN navigation surgery is beneficial for gastric cancer patients. Recently, a large-scale prospective study from the Japanese Society of Sentinel Node Navigation Surgery reported that the endoscopic dual tracer method, using a dye and radioisotope for SLN biopsy, was safe and effective when applied to cases of superficial and relatively small gastric cancers. SLN mapping with SLN basin dissection was preferred for early gastric cancer since it is minimally invasive. However, previous studies reported that limited gastrectomy and lymphadenectomy may not improve the patient’s postoperative quality of life (QOL). As a result, the benefit of SLN navigation surgery for gastric cancer patients, in terms of their QOL, is limited. Thus, endoscopic and laparoscopic limited gastrectomy combined with SLN navigation surgery has the potential to become the standard minimally invasive surgery in early gastric cancer.
Core tip: Recently, a large-scale prospective study reported that the endoscopic dual tracer method, using a dye and radioisotope for sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy, was safe and effective when applied to cases of superficial and relatively small gastric cancers. However, previous studies reported that limited gastrectomy and lymphadenectomy may not improve the patient’s postoperative quality of life (QOL). As a result, the benefit of SLN navigation surgery for gastric cancer patients, in terms of their QOL, is limited. Thus, endoscopic and laparoscopic limited gastrectomy combined with SLN navigation surgery has the potential to become the standard minimally invasive surgery for early gastric cancer.