Optimal settings and accuracy of indocyanine green fluorescence imaging for sentinel node biopsy in early gastric cancer

Indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence imaging represents a promising method for sentinel node (SN) biopsy in laparoscopic gastric surgery due to its signal stability. In the present study, the suitability and optimal settings of ICG fluorescence imaging for SN biopsy in early gastric cancer were determined. Patients with single primary superficial-type adenocarcinoma of the stomach, lesions <5 cm in diameter, and no evident nodal metastasis and out of indication for endoscopic submucosal dissection were enrolled. The day prior to surgery, ICG solution was endoscopically injected into four quadrants of the submucosal layer of the tumor. The Photodynamic Eye was used to detect ICG fluorescence. Bright nodes were defined as clearly fluorescent nodes. A total of 72 patients were enrolled; 11 cases presented with metastasis, and of these, 10 could be diagnosed by bright node biopsy. The adequate concentration and injection volume of ICG was determined to be 50 mu g/ml (x100) and 0.5 mlx4 points, respectively. There was 1 false-negative case, and this was attributed to the failure of the frozen section diagnosis. These results suggested that ICG fluorescence imaging for SN biopsy in laparoscopic surgery for early gastric cancer is feasible. However, a weakness of ICG fluorescence imaging is the subjectivity of bright node evaluation.