A standardized protocol for identifying and counting lymph nodes harvested by pelvic lymph node dissection at the time of radical cystectomy.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Lymph node counts have become a surrogate measure for the extent and quality of pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) at radical cystectomy, but little consideration has been given to the methodology of lymph node processing. We report results from a prospective series comparing a conventional protocol for processing PLND specimens to a fat-emulsifying protocol. We hypothesized that the rate of node positivity would increase with the fat-emulsifying protocol.

Methods

Patients undergoing radical cystectomy for cTis-T4aN0-1M0 urothelial carcinoma of the bladder were eligible for this trial. Palpable lymph nodes were isolated from the PLND specimens in the conventional protocol. The remaining tissue was then processed with fat-emulsifying solution to identify further

SUBMITTER: Metcalfe MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4662397 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep-Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature