[Management of retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer]

The standard management for advanced-stage epithelial ovarian cancer is optimum cytoreductive surgery followed by aggressive cytotoxic chemotherapy. However retroperitoneal remains controversial. The multiple directions of the lymph drainage pathway in ovarian cancer have been recognized. The incidence and pattern of lymph node involvement depends on the extent of disease progression and the histological type. Thus, it is difficult to specify a single node as the sentinel node. In this chapter, we review and discuss the actual benefits of lymph node dissection in patients with ovarian cancer, analysing previously reported and ongoing trials. A recent large randomized trial in patients with advanced ovarian cancer revealed that systemic lymphadenectomy had no impact on survival compared with removing only macroscopic lymph nodes but improves progression-free survival significantly. Further studies are needed to balance risks and benefits of systematic lymphadenectomy in advanced-stage disease.