European Journal of Gynaecological Oncology (EJGO) is published by IMR Press from Volume 40 Issue 1 (2019). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with S.O.G.
Ovarian cancer: lymph node metastases
Purpose of investigation: To analyze pelvic and paraaortic lymph node involvement in epithelial ovarian cancer. Methods: Between 1995 and 2006, 60 patients with FIGO Stages II, III, IV epithelial ovarian cancer underwent surgical treatment, including systematic pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomy. Results: Aortic lymph node metastases were documented in 45 (75%) patients and pelvic nodal metastases in 42 (70%). The incidence of paraaortic nodal involvement was 20% (12/60) in the absence of posi-tive pelvic nodes while the incidence of pelvic nodal involvement was 15% (9/60) in the absence of paraaortic disease; both pelvic and paraaortic lymph node involvement occurred in 55% of patients. The most frequent groups for nodal metastases are paracaval (56%), externaliliac (60%), and obturator (55%). Conclusion: The rate of nodal involvement is important in ovarian cancer and there is a high prevalence of both pelvic and paraaortic lymph node metastases. For this reason bilateral pelvic and paraaortic lym-phadenectomy is necessary for staging and as treatment for micrometastases, also in patients with unilateral tumors.