Nodal staging in penile carcinoma by dynamic sentinel node biopsy after previous therapeutic primary tumour resection

Abstract

Background: Dynamic sentinel node biopsy (DSNB) is used to evaluate the nodal status of patients with penile carcinoma and clinically node-negative groins. This minimally invasive procedure is usually done at the same time as the treatment of the primary tumour.

Objective: Our aim was to evaluate results of so-called postresection DSNB, that is, DSNB after previous resection of the penile tumour.

Design, setting, and participants: All 40 patients who had undergone DSNB after previous penile carcinoma resection with histopathologically tumour-negative margins between February 2003 and July 2009 were analysed. Twenty patients (50%) had known unilateral nodal involvement, and DSNB was used to stage the clinically normal contralateral groin. Hence the study concerned 60 groins without palpable nodes. The median time between primary tumour resection and DSNB was 2.8 mo. The technique of postresection DSNB was similar to the standard procedure.

Measurements: The sentinel node visualisation rate, identification rate, histopathologic results, and outcome during follow-up were investigated.

Results and limitations: A sentinel node was visualised on the lymphoscintigrams of 56 of the 60 eligible groins (93%). A sentinel node was identified intraoperatively in all these 56 groins. A median of two sentinel nodes were removed. Histopathologic analysis revealed involvement of seven groins (12%) in seven patients (18%). The median size of these metastases was 6mm. Additional dissemination was found in one completed ipsilateral inguinal node dissection specimen. No recurrences developed in the groins from which one or more tumour-free sentinel nodes had been taken during a median follow-up of 28 mo after the primary tumour resection. A potential limitation of this study is the short follow-up and relatively small cohort number.

Conclusions: Postresection DSNB is a suitable procedure to stage clinically node-negative penile carcinoma after previous therapeutic primary tumour resection. The results seem similar to the favourable experience with DSNB in patients with their tumour still present.