title: Sentinel lymph node biopsy in renal malignancy: The past, present and future.
abstract: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is now an established technique in penile and pelvic cancers, resulting in a lower mortality and morbidity when compared with the traditional lymph node dissection. In renal cancer however, despite some early successes for the SLNB technique, paucity of data remains a problem, thus lymph node dissection and extended lymph node dissection remain the management of choice in clinically node positive patients, with surveillance of lymph nodes in those who are clinically node negative. SLNB is a rapidly evolving technique and the introduction of new techniques such as near infra-red fluorescence optical imaging agents and positron emission tomography/computed tomography scans, may improve sensitivity. Evidence in support of this has already been recorded in bladder and prostate cancer. Although the lack of large multi-centre studies and issues around false negativity currently prevent its widespread use, with evolving techniques improving accuracy and the support of large-scale studies, SLNB does have the potential to become an integral part of staging in renal malignancy.
authors.affiliation: Tharani Mahesan, Alberto Coscione, Ben Ayres, Nick Watkin, Department of Urology, St George's Hospital, London SW17 0QT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Tharani
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mahesan
authors.affiliation: Tharani Mahesan, Alberto Coscione, Ben Ayres, Nick Watkin, Department of Urology, St George's Hospital, London SW17 0QT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Coscione
authors.affiliation: Tharani Mahesan, Alberto Coscione, Ben Ayres, Nick Watkin, Department of Urology, St George's Hospital, London SW17 0QT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ayres
authors.affiliation: Tharani Mahesan, Alberto Coscione, Ben Ayres, Nick Watkin, Department of Urology, St George's Hospital, London SW17 0QT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Watkin
keywords: Dynamic sentinel node; Lymphatic drainage; Lymphoscintigraphy; Near infra-red fluorescence; Penile cancer; Renal malignancy; Sentinel lymph node biopsy