title: Sentinel node navigation in gastric cancer: new horizons for personalized minimally invasive surgical oncology?
abstract: Complete (R0) resection and regional lymph nodes (LNs) dissection represent undoubtedly the basic surgical tools for patients with gastric cancer. It is reported that the LN metastasis rate in patients with early gastric cancer (EGC) is approximately 15-20%. Therefore, the innovative clinical application of sentinel node navigation surgery (SNNS) for EGC might be able to prevent unnecessary LN dissection as well as to reduce significantly the volume of gastric resection. Recent evidence suggests that double tracer methods appear superior compared to single tracer techniques. However, the researchers' interest is now focused on the identification of new LN detection methods utilizing sophisticated technology such as infrared ray endoscopy, fluorescence imaging and near-infrared technology. Despite its notable limitations, hematoxylin-eosin is still considered the mainstay staining for assessing the metastatic status of LNs. In this review, we summarize the current evidences and we provide the latest scientific information assessing safety, efficacy and potential limitations of the innovative sentinel node (SN) navigation technique for gastric cancer. We try also to provide a "view" towards a future potential application of personalized minimally invasive surgery in gastric cancer field.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Ioannina University Hospital & University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece; ; Department of Surgery, General Hospital of Preveza, Preveza, Greece.
authors.forename: Georgios D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Lianos
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, General Hospital of Preveza, Preveza, Greece.
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hasemaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, General Hospital of Preveza, Preveza, Greece.
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vaggelis
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, General Hospital of Preveza, Preveza, Greece.
authors.forename: Anastasia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karampa
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Ioannina University Hospital & University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
authors.forename: Zoi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Anastasiadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Ioannina University Hospital & University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
authors.forename: Aikaterini
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lianou
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, General Hospital of Preveza, Preveza, Greece.
authors.forename: Sarantis
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Papanikolaou
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, General Hospital of Preveza, Preveza, Greece.
authors.forename: Grigorios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Floras
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Ioannina University Hospital & University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
authors.forename: Christina D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Bali
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, General Hospital of Preveza, Preveza, Greece.
authors.forename: Epameinondas
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lekkas
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Ioannina University Hospital & University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Katsios
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Ioannina University Hospital & University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
authors.forename: Michail
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mitsis
keywords: Gastric cancer; early gastric cancer (EGC); guidelines; lymph node navigation (LN navigation); minimally invasive surgery; surgical oncology