Possible implications of neck lymphovenous shunts.
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OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of selective neck dissection for management of the clinically negative neck in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. DESIGN: A retrospective comparison of patients treated electively with selective neck dissection and comprehensive neck dissection. SETTING: Academic tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: Patients with clinically negative necks and previously untreated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. INTERVENTION: Elective neck dissection, surgical treatment of the primary lesion, and postoperative radiotherapy as indicated. OUTCOME MEASURES: Regional recurrence, distant metastasis, and disease-free survival. RESULTS: Selective neck dissection was as effective as comprehensive procedures for staging the clinically negative neck. Occult metastases had a statistically significant effect on patient outcome as measured by distant metastasis. CONCLUSION: Elective neck dissection provides invaluable staging information, which guides the decision for adjuvant therapy.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of internal jugular vein thrombosis after functional or selective neck dissection. DESIGN: Patients underwent serial Doppler ultrasonographic examinations of their internal jugular veins, on postoperative days 1 and 7, following functional neck dissection. Long-term follow-up was conducted at a minimum of 3 months. SETTING: Department of Otolaryngology, West Virginia University, Morgantown. PATIENTS: Sixty-five patients (51 men and 14 women) underwent 100 functional neck dissections between 1993 and 1995. Thirty-five patients had N0, 10 had N1, and 20 had N2 node involvement, respectively. Thirty-five patients underwent bilateral neck dissection, 17 underwent left neck dissection, and 13 underwent right neck dissection. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Thrombosis of the internal jugular veins was determined using duplex Doppler scanning. Correlation with the length of the procedure, intraoperative blood loss, preoperative radiation therapy, stage of neck disease, presence of extracapsular spread, wound infection, and pedicled musculocutaneous flap closure was determined. RESULTS: Of the 100 internal jugular veins studied, 20 (24.7%) of 81 and 19 (26.4%) of 72 were found to have evidence of thrombosis on postoperative days 1 and 7, respectively. On long-term follow-up, the incidence of internal jugular vein thrombosis was significantly lower (5.8%; P < .001). None of the variables examined correlated significantly with the presence of thrombosis. Of the 20 veins that were thrombosed initially, on follow-up 13 had normal flow and 2 had persistent thrombosis. Five patients were unavailable for follow-up. No thrombosis developed as a late finding. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that even though the incidence of internal jugular vein thrombosis is relatively high immediately following neck dissection, a significant number of these veins will undergo recanalization and have excellent long-term patency.
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BACKGROUND: Any sentinel lymph node that receives lymph drainage directly from a primary melanoma site, regardless of its location, may contain metastatic disease. This is true even if the sentinel node does not lie in a recognized node field. Interval (in-transit) nodes that lie along the course of a lymphatic vessel between a primary melanoma site and a recognized node field are sometimes seen during lymphatic mapping for sentinel node biopsy. If drainage to such interval nodes is ignored by the surgeon during sentinel node biopsy, metastatic melanoma will be missed in some patients. HYPOTHESIS: When lymph drains directly from a cutaneous melanoma site to an interval node, that sentinel node has the same chance of harboring micrometastatic disease as a sentinel node in a recognized node field. DESIGN: Preoperative lymphoscintigraphy with technetiumTc 99m antimony trisulfide colloid was performed to define lymphatic drainage patterns and, since 1992, to locate the sentinel lymph nodes for surgical biopsy or for permanent skin marking of their location with point tattoos. SETTING: Melanoma unit of a university teaching hospital. PATIENTS: A total of 2045 patients with cutaneous melanoma were studied in 13 years. RESULTS: Interval nodes were found in 148 patients (7.2%). The incidence of interval nodes varied with the site of the primary melanoma. Interval nodes were more common with melanomas on the trunk than with those on the lower limbs. Micrometastatic disease was found in 14% of interval nodes that underwent biopsy as sentinel nodes. This incidence is similar to that found in sentinel nodes located in recognized node fields, confirming the potential clinical importance of interval nodes. CONCLUSIONS: Interval nodes should be removed surgically along with any additional sentinel nodes in standard node fields if the sentinel node biopsy procedure is to be complete. In some patients, an interval node will be the only lymph node that contains metastatic disease.
HYPOTHESIS: The density of vasoactive endothelial growth factor receptor 3-immunostained microvessels in primary breast cancers correlates with the incidence of axillary lymph node metastasis. DESIGN: Breast cancer microvessel clusters ("hot spots") were sequentially immunostained for factor VIII, type IV collagen, and vasoactive endothelial growth factor receptor 3. Microvessels were counted under light microscopy at a magnification of x 200. Axillary lymph nodes were evaluated for metastases by light microscopy. SETTING: A multidisciplinary breast cancer clinic and laboratory. PATIENTS: Sixty patients with T2 breast cancers treated by lumpectomy (or mastectomy) and axillary lymphadenectomy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Putative lymphatic microvessel density compared with axillary metastases. RESULTS: There were 16% (SE, 1.4%) vs 4% (SE, 0.8%) vasoactive endothelial growth factor receptor 3-immunostained microvessels (P<.001), 38% (SE, 3.9%) vs 65% (SE, 3.1%) type IV collagen-immunostained microvessels (P<.001), and 46% (SE, 4.1%) vs 31% (SE, 3.2%) unstained microvessels (P = .004) in node-positive vs node-negative patients, respectively. A fitted logistic model based on the relative percentage of putative lymphatic microvessels to blood microvessels correctly predicted that 23 (96%) of 24 patients would have a low risk and that 26 (96%) of 27 patients would have a high risk of lymph node metastases. Six (67%) of 9 patients predicted to have an intermediate risk had lymph node metastases. CONCLUSION: The odds of a patient with breast cancer having axillary lymph node metastasis increased substantially as the proportion of putative lymphatic microvessels increased and the relative proportion of blood microvessels in angiogenic hot spots decreased (log likelihood = 14.6; chi2 = 53.4; P<.001; area under the receiver operation characteristic curve = 0.97).
BACKGROUND: Lymph node analysis is essential for staging gastrointestinal (GI) neoplasms. Intraoperative lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymphadenectomy were originally described for melanoma but have not yet been investigated for most GI neoplasms. HYPOTHESES: (1) Lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymphadenectomy is feasible in GI neoplasms, (2) the sentinel node (SN) status reflects the regional node status, and (3) focused analysis of the SN improves staging accuracy. DESIGN: Prospective patient series. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Lymphatic mapping was performed in 65 patients with GI neoplasms by injecting 0.5 to 1 mL of isosulfan blue dye around the periphery of the neoplasm. Blue-stained SNs were analyzed by hematoxylin-eosin staining, multiple sectioning, and cytokeratin immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Lymphatic mapping identified at least 1 SN in 62 patients (95%). Of the 36 cases with nodal metastasis, 32 (89%) had at least 1 positive SN and 15 (42%) had nodal metastasis only in the SN. In 11 cases, tumor deposits were identified by multiple sectioning (n = 2) or immunohistochemistry (n = 9) only. In 5 cases (8%), lymphatic mapping identified aberrant lymphatic drainage that altered the extent of the lymphadenectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymphadenectomy are feasible in GI neoplasms and identify aberrant lymphatic drainage. The SN status accurately reflects the regional node status. Focused analysis of the SN increases the detection of micrometastases and may improve selection of patients for adjuvant treatment.
BACKGROUND: Dye-directed sentinel node biopsy (SNB) for breast cancer provides accurate staging with low morbidity, but for tumors distant from the axilla, its use has been questioned. HYPOTHESIS: Can preoperative breast lymphoscintigraphy (BL) applied selectively to medial hemisphere tumors predict a subset of patients who may not require surgical staging of the axilla? DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Tertiary, multidisciplinary breast center. PATIENTS: Thirty-two women with breast tumors located in the medial hemisphere (30) or inframammary crease (2). INTERVENTION: Peritumoral injection of 500 microCi of technetium Tc 99m sulfur colloid and biplanar imaging. Nonpalpable lesions were localized with ultrasound or mammography. At the time of definitive breast surgery, isosulfan blue dye-directed SNB was performed. Axillary dissection was performed when the SN contained a tumor or could not be identified. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Regional nodal basins identified by BL; success rate of SNB. RESULTS: Preoperative BL demonstrated axillary drainage in 28 patients (88%); 2 patients (6%) had isolated internal mammary radionuclide uptake, and 2 patients had no nodal uptake. Dye-directed axillary SNB succeeded in 27 (87%) of 31 patients, including both patients with failed BL. Breast lymphoscintigraphy had predicted isolated internal mammary drainage in 2 of 4 patients whose SNs could not be identified. Metastases were found in 5 patients (16%). CONCLUSIONS: Axillary radionuclide uptake predicts but does not augment dye-directed SN identification. In those few patients with isolated internal mammary drainage, BL may obviate the need for surgical staging of the axilla.
BACKGROUND: Patients with T4 N0 M0 melanoma are considered at high risk for having occult metastases, and adjuvant therapy is usually recommended. HYPOTHESIS: Long-term survival in patients with thick melanoma is not universally poor. DESIGN: A retrospective study. SETTING: University teaching hospital. PATIENTS: We evaluated clinical node-negative thick (> or = l4.0 mm) melanoma in 151 patients who received their primary definitive surgical treatment in our department. None of these patients received any adjuvant therapy. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 44 months; median thickness, 5.5 mm. Median overall (OS) and disease-free survivals (DFS) were 70 (5-year survival, 52%) and 51 months (5-year survival, 47%), respectively. Patients with node-positive disease faired significantly worse than did those with node-negative disease. Median OS and DFS for patients with node-positive disease were 49 and 32 months (5-year survival, 35%), respectively, compared with 209 (5-year survival, 61%) and 165 months (5-year survival, 56%), respectively, for patients with node-negative disease. Similarly, OS and DFS were significantly lower when the primary tumor had at least 5 mitoses/mm(2) or was located in the head and neck region. After multivariate analysis, status of the lymph nodes was the most predictive variable for OS and DFS. CONCLUSIONS: The thickness of melanoma, by itself, should not be used as a criterion for adjuvant therapy. Other prognostic factors should be considered.
HYPOTHESIS: For patients with melanoma, interval or in-transit sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) have the same risk for nodal metastasis as SLN in traditional (ie, cervical, axillary, and inguinal) nodal basins. DESIGN: Prospective clinical trial. SETTING: Multicenter study. PATIENTS: Eligible patients were aged 18 to 70 years with melanomas of at least 1.0-mm Breslow thickness and nodes with clinically negative findings. INTERVENTION: Sentinel lymph node biopsy was guided by preoperative lymphoscintigraphy to identify all SLNs. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We evaluated interval nodal sites, including epitrochlear, popliteal, and subcutaneous or intramuscular nodes outside of traditional basins, for the presence of metastases. RESULTS: The SLNs were identified in 2332 nodal basins from 2000 patients. In 62 patients (3.1%), interval SLNs were identified. We found SLN metastases in 442 (19.5%) of 2270 conventional nodal basins and 13 (21.0%) of 62 interval sites. In 11 (84.6%) of the 13 cases in which we found an interval node that was positive for metastatic disease, it was the only site of nodal metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: Although interval SLNs are identified infrequently, they contain metastatic disease at nearly the same frequency as SLNs in cervical, axillary, and inguinal nodal basins. Positive interval SLNs are likely to be the only site of nodal metastasis. Therefore, detailed preoperative lymphoscintigraphy and meticulous intraoperative search for interval nodes should be performed.
HYPOTHESIS: Discontinuous nodal metastasis, or skip metastasis, in thyroid cancer may display clinicopathologic features different from those seen in continuous nodal metastasis and thus may have a different prognosis. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SETTING: Tertiary referral center at a university hospital. PATIENTS: Two hundred fifteen consecutive patients who underwent systematic central lymph node dissection for papillary, follicular, or medullary thyroid cancer and who on histopathologic analysis exhibited nodal metastases in at least 1 lateral or mediastinal lymph node compartment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Various clinicopathologic variables that were stratified for tumor entity and type of nodal metastasis (discontinuous vs continuous). RESULTS: Skip metastases (negative central and positive lateral or mediastinal compartments) were found in 13 (19.7%) of 66 papillary, 0 of 8 follicular, and 30 (21.3%) of 141 medullary thyroid cancers. After adjustment for multiple testing, skip metastasis was only associated with significantly fewer positive lymph nodes: 3.7 vs 12.9 nodes (r = -0.43, P<.001) in papillary thyroid cancer and 6.0 vs 17.1 nodes (r = -0.40, P<.001) in medullary thyroid cancer. No other significant correlation was identified with any other clinicopathologic variable. CONCLUSIONS: Skip metastasis is an epiphenomenon of low-intensity nodal metastasis in thyroid cancer and entails a moderate risk of local recurrence. Consequently, clearing the central lymph node compartment should be considered when lateral or mediastinal lymph node compartments are involved.
HYPOTHESIS: Management strategies affect the outcome of axillary recurrence in breast cancer. DESIGN: Population-based analysis. SETTING: Cancer agency breast cancer database. PATIENTS: Two hundred twenty women diagnosed with stage 0 through III breast cancer between 1989 and 2003 who subsequently developed an isolated axillary relapse. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Overall survival rate and disease-free survival rate according to treatment strategy of the axillary recurrence. RESULTS: Among 19 789 women diagnosed with stage 0 through III breast cancer during the study era, 220 had an isolated axillary recurrence (Kaplan-Meier 5-year isolated axillary relapse rate, 1.0%). The median interval between primary breast cancer diagnosis and axillary recurrence was 2.2 years (range,1.8 months to 11.9 years). Median follow-up time after axillary recurrence was 5.4 years. Treatment for the axillary recurrence included lymph node biopsy (47.3%), complete axillary dissection (25.9%), axillary radiation (65.0%), chemotherapy (24.1%), and hormonal therapy (68.2%). The 5-year Kaplan-Meier overall survival rate estimate after axillary recurrence was 49.3% (95% confidence interval, 42.0-56.3). Median survival time from the isolated axillary recurrence was 4.9 years (range, 2.0 months to 15.1 years). Overall (P < .001) and disease-free (P = .006) survival times were highest in those treated with a combination of surgery and radiation. Other factors associated with improved overall survival rate were an interval from diagnosis to relapse greater than 2.5 years (P = .003), no initial axillary radiation (P < .001), asymptomatic presentation of the recurrence (P = .05), and subsequent systemic treatment (P = .02). CONCLUSIONS: The 5-year isolated axillary recurrence rate of women treated for breast cancer was 1.0%. Multimodality management at the time of recurrence, including axillary surgery, radiation, and systemic therapy, significantly improved overall and disease-free survival.
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En bloc resection of the primary melanoma with the regional lymph node drainage basin as a method of controlling disease within the area was used in 281 patients with stage I or II melanoma arising on the extremities (proximal to wrist or ankle) or on the trunk from 1954 through 1964. The en bloc operation was performed in 212 patients with a five-year cure of 73.5% (156 of 212). Seventy-six percent had histologically negative nodes. Only 2% developed regional recurrence. Sixty-nine patients had a discontinuous dissection. The five-year cure was comparable: 68% (47 of 69). The incidence of histologically negative nodes was similar (77%), but the regional recurrence rate was 14%. This difference is significant at P < .01. The incontinuity or en bloc procedure appears highly effective for its designed purpose.
We describe a technique that facilitates excisional biopsy of the axillary lymph nodes. The arm is suspended anterior to the chest in an adducted position that displaces the pectoralis major muscle medially and positions the axillary lymph nodes immediately deep to the hair-bearing area of the skin. This position permits biopsy of the lymph nodes with a relatively short incision and a minimum of dissection.
We analyzed the regional lymph node metastases of 98 patients with thyroid cancer who underwent bilateral modified neck dissection. Bilateral jugular lymph node metastases were frequent in patients with papillary carcinoma of the thyroid, especially in those patients with obvious carcinoma in both lobes of the gland, cancer arising in the isthmus, clinically detectable bilateral lymphadenopathy, and recurrent thyroid cancer. In patients whose cancer was clinically confined to one lobe, and where there were no obviously enlarged contralateral lymph nodes, the occurrence of contralateral jugular lymph node metastasis was significantly correlated with the contralateral paratracheal lymph node metastasis. The bilateral lymphadenectomy appears to be appropriate in these instances.