Objective. The purpose of this study was to examine sentinel lymph no de (SLN) detection in patients with early stage cervical cancer using 99mTc phytate and p atent blue dye and to compare our method with published findings utilizing other radioisotopic tracers. Patients and methods. A total of 20 consecutive patients with cervical cancer scheduled for radical hysterectomy and total pelvic lympha denectomy at our hospital underwent SLN detection study. The day before surgery, lymphoscintigraphywas performedwith injection of 99m-technetium (99mTc)-label ed phytate into the uterine cervix. At surgery, patients underwent lymphatic map ping with a gamma detecting probe and patent blue injected into the same points as the phytate solution. Results. At least one positive node was detected in 18 patients (90%). A total of 46 sentinel nodeswere detected (mean, 2.3; range, 1 -5). Most sentinel nodes were in one of the following sites: external iliac (21 nodes), obturator (15 nodes), and parametrial (7 nodes). Eleven (24%) sentinel nodes were detected only through radioactivity and two (4%)-were detected onl y with blue dye. The sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value for SLN detection were all 100%. Nine published studies involving 295 patients had a summarized detection rate of 85%. Summarized sensitivity, specificity, and n egative predictive value were 93%, 100%, and 99%, respectively. Conclusion. C ombination of 99mTc phytate and patent blue is effective in SLN detection in ear ly stage cervical cancer.
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