Sentinel node in colon cancer

Treatment after "complete" endoscopic polypectomy of a malignant polyp varies. The patient may undergo colon resection and lymphadenectomy with no evidence of disease at the final diagnosis (overtreatment?) or be offered the possibility of endoscopic surveillance only with a diagnosis of disease persistence after some time, which entails an apparent therapeutic "delay" (undertreatment?). The choice between surgical radicalization and endoscopic follow-up after complete polypectomy of a malignant polyp is not based on scientifically-validated clinico-pathological proofs. The aim of this paper is to present the outlines of two studies: one on the choice between intensive surveillance or surgery after complete polypectomy of a malignant colorectal polyp (SEC-GISCoR) and one on the predictive value of sentinel node in staging early colorectal cancer. Should the studies prove the good predictive value of sentinel nodes in colon cancer and a satisfactory reproducibility of the technique, new management perspectives would open for patients with colon cancer.