Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for penile cancer
What is a sentinel lymph node biopsy?
If you have penile cancer (cancer of the penis), a sentinel lymph node biopsy (SNLB) is a way of checking the smallest possible number of lymph nodes in the groin to see if they contain cancer cells. The sentinel node is the first node that lymph fluid from the penis drains to. This means it is the node most likely to contain any cancer cells. There may be more than one sentinel node.
Your cancer doctor will talk to you about whether an SLNB is suitable for you. They will help you decide whether to have the test or not.
Having a sentinel lymph node biopsy
You have an SLNB done under a general anaesthetic. The surgeon injects a blue dye and a tiny amount of harmless, radioactive liquid into the area of the cancer. The dye drains into the sentinel lymph nodes and turns them blue. The surgeon uses a small, hand-held instrument to find the lymph nodes that have picked up the radioactive liquid. They remove any blue or radioactive nodes (sentinel nodes) through a small cut in the groin.
If the sentinel nodes do not contain cancer, it is very unlikely that any other lymph nodes will. This means you will not need to have any more lymph nodes removed. If there are cancer cells in any sentinel nodes, you will need more surgery to remove the rest of the lymph nodes.
About our information
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References
Below is a sample of the sources used in our penile cancer information. If you would like more information about the sources we use, please contact us at cancerinformationteam@macmillan.org.uk
EAU Guidelines: Penile Cancer (accessed 2018). Available from: uroweb.org/guideline/penile-cancer
Penile cancer: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow up (accessed 2018). Available from: www.annalsofoncology.org/article/S0923-7534(19)31556-X/pdf
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Reviewers
This information has been written, revised and edited by Macmillan Cancer Support’s Cancer Information Development team. It has been reviewed by expert medical and health professionals and people living with cancer. It has been approved by Senior Medical Editor, Dr Ursula McGovern, Consultant Medical Oncologist.
Our cancer information has been awarded the PIF TICK. Created by the Patient Information Forum, this quality mark shows we meet PIF’s 10 criteria for trustworthy health information.
Content under review
The language we use
We want everyone affected by cancer to feel our information is written for them.
We try to make sure our information is as clear as possible. We use plain English, avoid jargon, explain any medical words, use illustrations to explain text, and make sure important points are highlighted clearly.
We use gender-inclusive language and talk to our readers as ‘you’ so that everyone feels included. Where clinically necessary we use the terms ‘men’ and ‘women’ or ‘male’ and ‘female’. For example, we do so when talking about parts of the body or mentioning statistics or research about who is affected. Our aims are for our information to be as clear and relevant as possible for everyone.
You can read more about how we produce our information here.