Sentinel node dissection in prostate cancer - Current status

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) dissection is an excellent staging procedure with high sensitivity (> 95%) for detecting positive nodes. When the sentinel node is negative, there is high certainty that other lymph nodes are also negative. Limitations of this technique include the use of hormone therapy over several months and a preceding transurethral resection or suprapubic adenomectomy. When sentinel node dissection is performed in patients with intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer, it should be kept in mind that when the SLN is positive, other lymph nodes can be positive, too. The positive non-SLN can be located outside the SLN region. Therefore, both sentinel and extended lymph node dissection should be used in men with a higher risk of lymph node metastases.