Sentinel node biopsy as a surgical staging method for solid cancers.

The sentinel node is the first lymph node that drains a primary tumour. If this lymphatic drainage occurs in a step-wise fashion, this lymph node reflects the pathological status of the remaining lymph node basin. The day before the operation, a total dose of 60 MBq 99mTc nanocolloid is injected around the primary tumour for lymphoscintigraphy. On the day of surgery, 1 ml of blue dye is injected around the primary tumour to facilitate sentinel lymph node detection. After making a small incision over the regional lymph node region, the sentinel node can be detected using a hand-held gamma ray detection probe; the sentinel lymph node and the afferent lymphatic vessels will be stained blue. Sentinel node biopsy has proved useful for malignant melanoma, breast cancer, penile cancer, vulvar cancer, Merkel cell carcinoma and thyroid cancer. New studies are described on breast cancer and malignant melanoma. Gamma-probe-guided localization of radiolabelled lymph nodes can direct the surgeon non-invasively to the exact location of the sentinel node. Once localized with a gamma probe, it is quick and easy to remove the sentinel node through a small incision. Discriminating the node from other tissue can be aided by blue dye which stains the lymph node. It appears that both radioactivity and blue dye are complementary for locating the sentinel node.