In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez is joined by Dr. Núria Agustí to discuss SLN mapping in ovarian cancer. Dr. Agustí specializes in gynecologic oncology at Hospital Clinic of Barcelona. She is currently a PhD researcher at the University of Barcelona and engaged in a postdoctoral fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA. She recently completed the IJGC Editorial Fellowship program.

Highlights:

• There is a high heterogeneity in SLN mapping techniques,  emphasizing the need for standardized protocols and further research in this area.
• The study reports a sentinel lymph node detection rate of 93.3% in patients with early-stage ovarian cancer with a 100% negative predictive value.
• The study suggests that the combination of radiotracer and indocyanine green for tracer injection into the utero-ovarian and infundibulo-pelvic ligaments may yield the best detection rates for SLNs in ovarian cancer.
• Additional ongoing and well-defined studies and consideration of oncologic outcomes before implementing SLN detection as a routine practice for ovarian cancer staging is highly needed.