RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the accuracy of intaoperative methylene blue alone and in combination with (99m)Tc-sulfur colloid isotopic tracing for detection of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty-one patients with operable NSCLC who did not receive previous radiotherapy or chemotherapy were enrolled. Methylene blue and (99m)Tc-sulfur colloid were injected into the subserosal layer adjacent to the tumor, and SLNs were defined as those with blue staining or those containing 3 times more radioactivity than the surrounding tissue detected with a gamma probe. The SLN were removed with systematic lymph node dissection. All the removed lymph nodes were examined histopathologically with HE staining and immunohistochemistry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Methylene blue alone showed a low detection rate (60.0%) and sensitivity (58.33%) for SLNs compared with the combination of methylene blue and isotope tracing (96.15% and 92.86%, respectively).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The combination of methylene blue and (99m)Tc-sulfur colloid isotopic tracing allows accurate detection of the SLNs in early-stage NSCLC.</p>