Sentinel node navigation surgery in patients with early gastric cancer

Clinical application of sentinel node (SN) mapping in patients with early gastric cancer has been a controversial issue for years. However, a recent meta-analysis and a prospective multicenter trial of SN mapping for early gastric cancer have shown acceptable SN detection rates and accuracy of determination of lymph node status. A dual-tracer method that utilizes radioactive colloids and blue dyes is currently considered the most reliable method for the stable detection of SNs in patients with early gastric cancer. However, new technologies such as indocyanine green infrared or fluorescence imaging might revolutionize the SN mapping procedures in gastric cancer. For early-stage gastric cancer such as cT1N0, for which a better prognosis can be potentially achieved through conventional surgical approaches, the establishment of individualized, minimally invasive treatments that may retain the patients' quality of life should be the next surgical challenge. Although there are many unresolved technical issues, laparoscopic SN biopsy with laparoscopic minimized gastrectomy or endoscopic mucosal resection/endoscopic submucosal dissection could be a promising strategy to achieve this goal.