Alessandro Buda, Ilaria Capasso, Jessica Mauro, Emanuele Perrone, Michael Mueller, Robert Fruscio, Valentina Bruno, Sara Imboden, Tommaso Grassi, Virginia Garcia-Pineda, Elisa Tripodi, Salih Taskin, Stefano Restaino, Diego Raimondo, Vito Andrea Capozzi, Andrea Papadia, Franziska Siegenthaler, Jvan Casarin, Giuseppe Cucinella, Enrico Vizza, Ignacio Zapardiel, Giuseppe Vizzielli, Cagatay Taskiran, Francesco Fanfani
In apparent uterine-confined EC, no significant differences in recurrence or nodal relapse were observed across nodal staging strategies. These findings support the use of SLN mapping as an adequate staging approach within a biology-driven framework, although they should be interpreted in light of the retrospective design.
BACKGROUND: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping has increasingly replaced systematic lymphadenectomy in apparent uterine-confined endometrial cancer (EC). However, concerns persist regarding the risk of recurrence following nodal surgical de-escalation, particularly in patients with aggressive histologic subtypes. We aimed to evaluate the oncologic safety of SLN-based nodal de-escalation by analyzing recurrence patterns and recurrence-free survival in patients with apparent early-stage EC.
METHODS: We conducted a retrospective multi-institutional study including women with apparent uterine-confined EC who underwent primary surgery including SLN mapping, with or without pelvic and/or para-aortic lymphadenectomy. Patients were grouped according to nodal staging strategy: SLN-only, SLN plus pelvic lymphadenectomy (PLND), and SLN plus PLND plus para-aortic lymphadenectomy (PALND). The primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and patterns of recurrence.
RESULTS: We included 2123 patients from 15 centers in six countries. SLN-only staging was performed in 1,341 patients (63.2%), SLN+PLND in 483 (22.8%), and SLN+PLND+PALND in 299 (14.1%). With a median follow-up of 44.9 months (IQR 19.1-73.4), 121 recurrences were observed (5.6%). No statistically significant differences in PFS were observed among nodal staging groups. On multivariable Cox analysis, SLN-only staging was not associated with inferior PFS compared with SLN+PLND (HR 1.12, p=0.61), and the addition of PALND did not confer a significant benefit. Endometrioid high-grade histology, non-endometrioid high-risk histotypes, deep myometrial invasion, and lymphovascular space invasion were independently associated with recurrence. Isolated nodal relapse was uncommon (14.9%) and similarly distributed across groups. Exploratory molecular analysis did not show statistically significant differences in PFS across molecular subgroups, although expected survival trends were observed.
CONCLUSIONS: In apparent uterine-confined EC, no significant differences in recurrence or nodal relapse were observed across nodal staging strategies. These findings support the use of SLN mapping as an adequate staging approach within a biology-driven framework, although they should be interpreted in light of the retrospective design.