Comprehensive lymph node assessment seems to be critical for proper treatment strategy and survival prediction, particularly in advanced GC. Recent data on the sentinel node (SN) concept in early GC has shown favorable results regarding LN detection rate and clinical status determination. Staging laparoscopy (SL) with lavage cytology provides an additional value to the clinical staging of GC, particularly in detecting occult peritoneal disease. The role of Indocyanine green (ICG) guided SN mapping in GC confirmed its technical feasibility. ICG can be safely used to identify SN, determine the surgical resection line, improve the LN harvest, and reduce noncompliance in patients undergoing D2 lymphadenectomy.~The majority of the studies focused on the aspect of the increase in LN harvest. At the same time, no data exist regarding its potential role in GC nodal staging. To the best of our knowledge, the current study is the first to evaluate the role of ICG in SN biopsy in advanced GC patients undergoing multimodal treatment.
Staging LaParscopy to Assess Lymph NOde InvoLvement in Advanced GAstric Cancer (POLA) study aims to investigate the safety and feasibility of ICG-guided SN retrieval in GC patients undergoing multimodal treatment. The pretreatment clinical variables potentially associated with the procedure will also be analyzed.~To the best of our knowledge, the current study is the first to evaluate the role of ICG in SN biopsy in advanced GC patients undergoing multimodal treatment.