Sentinel lymph node biopsy for staging penile cancer.
Eighteen sentinel lymph node biopsies were performed in 10 patients with invasive squamous carcinoma of the penis. Five of 15 biopsies associated with inguinal lymphadenopathy and 2 of 3 biopsies associated with palpably normal inguinal nodes were positive. Among 7 ipsilateral regional lymphadenectomies undertaken because of a positive biopsy, additional lymph node metastases were uncovered in only 1 instance. Among 5 patients with negative biopsies bilaterally, none had other superficial inguinal lymph node metastases and all but one have remained free of tumor (mean follow-up 26 months). These data support the possibility that the sentinel lymph node is often the first site of regional lymphatic metastasis in penile cancer.
D001706:Biopsy; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D006119:Groin; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010412:Penile Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*