title: False-negative sentinel node in patients with vulvar cancer: a case study.
abstract: Evidence from recent studies indicates that the technique of sentinel node biopsy might be a useful solution for detecting lymph node status for primary vulvar cancer without having to perform radical inguinal lymphadenectomy. The patient in this report underwent sentinel node biopsy, then bilateral inguino-femoral node dissection, and, lastly, radical vulvectomy. The histologic analysis showed a well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma with metastases in one right inguinal node and one left inguinal node and a false-negative right sentinel node. Technically the biopsy of groin sentinel nodes should be quite easy to perform. The use of preoperative lymphoscintigraphy and the intraoperative use of the gamma probe combined with blue dye helps considerably in identifying lymphatic drainage and the sentinel node for vulvar cancer. Further results are needed to confirm the value of sentinel node dissection in the treatment of early stage vulvar cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecologic Oncology, Università degli studi di Milano, Milan, Italy. dittotony@hotmail.com
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Raspagliesi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ditto
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fontanelli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maccauro
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Carcangiu
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Parazzini
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bombardieri
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005260:Female; D006119:Groin; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision / Q000379:methods*; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy / Q000379:methods*; D014846:Vulvar Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*