Conization and lymph node evaluation in low-risk cervical cancer. Is it time to avoid radical surgery? Retrospective series and literature review.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the oncologic and obstetric outcomes of patients with low-risk cervical cancer who underwent conization and lymphatic evaluation to preserve fertility. METHODS: Data were collected retrospectively from September 2013 to February 2021. Eligibility criteria included Women with cervical cancer (aged <45 years) who underwent fertility preservation treatment, [stage IA1 with positive lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI), stage IA2, or stage IB1 (≤2 cm) with less <10 mm cervical stromal invasion, according to the International Federaltion of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) 2018 staging system] aged ≤45 years who wished to preserve their fertility were included in this study. All patients were treated with cervical conization(s) and laparoscopic lymph node evaluation [pelvic lymphadenectomy and/or sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping]. Oncologic and obstetric outcomes were evaluated. RESULTS: Overall, 31 patients met the inclusion criteria; 15 (48.3%) women were nulliparous. There were 8 IA1LVSI+ (25.8%), 11 IA2 (35.4%) and 12 IB1 (31.7%) tumours, according to 2018 FIGO stage classification. Most patients had squamous cell carcinoma (77.4%). Lymphovascular space involvement was found in thirteen patients (41.9%). Reconization was performed in 17 (54.8%) patients, of which 6(35.2%) were done due to compromised margins, 4(23.5%) for margins under than 3 mm, 3(17.6%) for unreported or coagulated margins and 4(23.5%) because previous conization was done in another institution and we could not obtain the paraffin blocks for pathology review. Twenty patients had MRI and eleven CT scan. Nine (30%) patients had a complete bilateral pelvic lymph node dissection, 9 (26.6%) had SLN mapping with pelvic lymphadenectomy, and 13 (43.3%) had SLN mapping alone after bilateral SLN identification at surgery. After a median follow-up of 41.4 months (range 2-90 months), no recurrences have been detected. In terms of obstetrial outcome, 11 patients attempted pregnancy and 9 became pregnant. First-trimester miscarriage occurred in one patient. Five patients delivered at term by caesarean section, one of them requiring hysterectomy at the time of delivery. Pathology did not show residual disease. Two patients had a vaginal delivery at 38 weeks. One pregnancy is still ongoing. CONCLUSION: Cervical conization with lymph node assessment by SLN mapping/lymphadenectomy is an oncologic safe procedure in patients with low-risk cervical cancer.

[Conservative management of the axillary nodes in operable breast cancer]. / Manejo conservador de la axila en cáncer de mama operable.

Over the years, the treatment of breast cancer has changed dramatically. We briefly describe those changes and also the different therapeutic approches to the axillary nodes. Over the last century, the primary goal was to avoid radical surgery of the breast. However, during the last decades, the interest was mainly focused on the possibility of treating the axila in a conservative way, in an effort to minimize the adverse effects of linfadenectomy. The sentinel node technique is of key importance, because nowadays it is possible to diagnose breast cancer at early stages when most of the times the axila is negative. The early diagnoses of breast cancer makes the sentinel node technique a relevant tool at the time of making therapeutic decisions. We believe that the sentinel node technique could predict in many cases the lymph node status without the need of a complete axillary dissection of the axila in patients with breast cancer.