TY - JOUR TI - The impact of inguinal lymph node micrometastases in patients with vulvar cancer AU - Derdelis, G. AU - Pergialiotis, V. AU - Terzakis, E. AU - Koufopoulos, N. AU - Martzoukou, I. AU - Gakiopoulou, C. AU - Lazaris, A. AU - Patsouris, E. JO - Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics PY - 2017 VL - 295 TODO - 2 SP - 435-438 PB - Springer-Verlag SN - 0932-0067, 1432-0711 TODO - 10.1007/s00404-016-4233-4 TODO - cytokeratin AE1; cytokeratin AE3, adult; aged; Article; cancer recurrence; cancer staging; controlled study; female; follow up; human; inguinal lymph node; lymph node dissection; lymph node metastasis; major clinical study; micrometastasis; microtome; observational study; operation duration; retrospective study; vulva cancer; vulvectomy; epidemiology; inguinal region; lymph node metastasis; middle aged; pathology; procedures; tumor recurrence; vulva tumor, Aged; Female; Groin; Humans; Lymph Node Excision; Lymphatic Metastasis; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Micrometastasis; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; Retrospective Studies; Vulvar Neoplasms TODO - Purpose: Inguinofemoral metastases are a major determinant of vulvar cancer relapse. Until today, the impact of micrometastases of inguinal nodes on local recurrence rates of patients with vulvar cancer remains unknown. The purpose of this retrospective study is to evaluate the rates of micrometastases in a series of patients with vulvar cancer treated with radical vulvectomy and inguinofemoral LND and to assess the probability of cancer relapse among this specific category. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study on patients with vulvar cancer who attended the gynaecological department of Anticancer Hospital of St. Savvas between January 1989 and January 2007. Ultra-staging of lymph nodes for micrometastases was performed after cutting the remaining specimens with a microtome in multiple slices of 3 μm. Subsequently they were stained with traditional hematoxylin and eosin and CK AE1/AE3 antibodies for immunohistochemichal analysis. Results: Ninety-two patients with primary vulvar malignancies were included in the present retrospective study. Ultrastaging of the lymph nodes revealed micrometastases in five patients (5.4%). Neither the duration of the procedure, nor the number of retrieved lymph nodes was directly associated with the presence of micrometastases. The patients were followed up for more than 5 years. Sixteen recurrences (17.4%) occurred during this period. The presence of micrometastases did not influence the recurrence rate (OR 3.57, 95% CI 0.55–23.36, p = 0.184). Conclusion: Ultrastaging of inguinal nodes does not seem to add any benefit in the prediction of local recurrence rates. Future multicenter studies are needed in the field to corroborate our findings. © 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. ER -