Paraaortic and pelvic lymph node dissection in the combined treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer with isolated lymph node lesion: a literature review

The aim of the work is to analyze all available literature data on the role of secondary cytoreduction, its effectiveness and safety in the recurrence of ovarian cancer (ОС) with isolated lymph node (LN) lesion.
The importance and place of secondary cytoreduction in the combined treatment of recurrent ОС is one of the most controversial topics. The lesion of the LN in recurrent Ос varies from 12 % to 37 %, but an isolated recurrence in the LN is a very rare occurrence, about 5 %. The most common localization in recurrent ОС with isolated LN lesion is the paraaortic LN.

The results of this literature review suggest that isolated Ln lesion should be clearly distinguished from recurrence at other sites (such as peritoneal and parenchymal), since patients with isolated recurrence in the LN have a relatively indolent course of the disease. The frequency of complete cytoreduction according to the available data of retrospective studies reaches 100 %. Paraaortic and pelvic lymph node dissection without a macroscopically detectable residual tumor in combination with postoperative systemic chemotherapy leads to improved survival rates compared only with systemic drug treatment of patients with isolated LN lesion in recurrent ОС. median survival from the moment of relapse detection and overall survival varies from about 2.5 to 4 years and >5 years, respectively. Systemic paraaortic and pelvic lymph node dissection is preferable compared to selective lymphadenectomy, as it is accompanied by an increase in progression-free survival, although it doesn’t significantly prolong overall survival.

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