SynthesisLangenbeck's archives of surgery2025
Fluorescence indocyanine green (ICG) for sentinel-lymph-node mapping in colorectal cancer: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Langenbeck's archives of surgery, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Comparing ICG-Guided vs. Conventional Laparoscopic Lymphadenectomy in Gastric Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of gastrointestinal cancer · 2025Pooled it
- Rethinking lymphadenectomy in the immunotherapy era of colorectal cancer: A hypothesis-generating perspective.Colorectal disease : the official journal of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland · 2026Review
- Review
- Clinical application of indocyanine green fluorescence imaging technology in laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery.Journal of gastrointestinal oncology · 2025Article
- Impact of preoperative indocyanine green injection on intraoperative decision-making and lymph node harvest in rectal cancer surgery.Frontiers in surgery · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveModern surgical guidance in laparoscopic colon cancer procedures could be enhanced by visualizing lymphatic flow during surgery, already helping surgeons in determining the precise extent of digestive resection and could be useful in lymphadenectomy. Related to oncological procedure, lymphadenectomy is mandatory to assess the extension of the disease. To explore this approach, the objective of this review is to examine the use of indocyanine green fluorescence imaging for real-time in vivo identification of lymphatic flow and especially sentinel nodes in patients undergoing elective surgery for colorectal cancer.
methodsA systematic review was conducted to identify relevant studies on sentinel node mapping using indocyanine green (ICG) in colorectal cancer surgery. A comprehensive search was performed in electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library from inception to December 2024. The search strategy incorporated relevant keywords and MeSH terms, combining variations of "colorectal neoplasms," "sentinel lymph node," "indocyanine green," and related terms. The search was limited to articles published in English language.
resultsA total of 405 studies were identified across all databases. After screening, 45 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility, and 12 studies were ultimately included in the systematic review. ICG-FI has not yet demonstrated superiority over the standard blue dye technique. Moreover, a notable heterogeneity exists among the reported studies concerning ICG dosage, injection methods and the definition of positive LN status for sensitivity calculations, making direct comparisons challenging.
conclusionDespite the potential shown with other surgical oncological resections, ICG-FI requires further investigation and standardization in protocols and indications to fully harness its capabilities for SLN detection in CRC, especially metastatic nodes. Larger patient populations should be considered in future research to comprehensively assess its efficacy. This systematic review highlights the heterogeneity and limitations of current evidence regarding ICG-FI for SLN detection in colorectal cancer. While preliminary results are encouraging, further well-designed prospective trials are required before routine clinical implementation can be recommended.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.