Clinical Gastroenterology Vol.26 No.10(3)

Theme Current Status of Uprising Strategy for Esophageal Cancer Treatment
Title New Treatment Strategy for Superficial Esophageal Cancer Based on Sentinel Node Concept
Publish Date 2011/09
Author Hiroya Takeuchi Department of Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine
Author Yuko Kitagawa Department of Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine
[ Summary ] In relation to esophageal cancer, sentinel nodes (SNs) are identified as multiple nodes and are widely spread from cervical to abdominal areas. In most cases, at least one SN is located in the 2nd or 3rd compartment of the regional lymph nodes. These have been considered to be "skip metastases". This characteristic distribution of SNs is attributed to multidirectional lymphatic drainage routes from the esophagus. Clinical application of the sentinel node concept is expected to play a key role in intraoperative diagnosis of lymph node metastasis and individualized multimodal therapy, including chemoradiotherapy and endoscopic treatment, in patients with cT1N0 esophageal cancer.
back