(1) Background: Several studies have described the psychological harms of testing for cancer. However, most were conducted in asymptomatic subjects and in cancers with a well-established screening programme. We sought to establish cancers in which the literature is deficient, and identify variables associated with psychological morbidity and interventions to mitigate their effect. (2) Methods: Electronic bibliographic databases were searched up to December 2020. We included quantitative studies reporting on variables associated with psychological morbidity associated with cancer testing and primary studies describing interventions to mitigate these. (3) Results: Twenty-six studies described individual, testing-related, and organisational variables. Thirteen randomised controlled trials on interventions were included, and these were categorised into five groups, namely the use of information aids, music therapy, the use of real-time videos, patient navigators and one-stop clinics, and pharmacological or homeopathic therapies. (4) Conclusions: The contribution of some factors to anxiety in cancer testing and their specificity of effect remains inconclusive and warrants further research in homogenous populations and testing contexts. Targeting young, unemployed patients with low levels of educational attainment may offer a means to mitigate anxiety. A limited body of research suggests that one-stop clinics and patient navigators may be beneficial in patients attending for diagnostic cancer testing.
Inguinal lymph node involvement is the most robust predictor of
mortality in women with vulval cancer and sentinel lymph node biopsy is
recognised as a safe diagnostic modality provided strict patient
criteria as defined by the GROINSS-V study are respected. Studies have
largely concentrated on the efficacy of different intraoperative
detection modalities or histopathological protocols whilst the
literature describing a standardised surgical technique remains
deficient. We hereby propose a reproducible operative technique based on
anatomical landmarks and an appreciation of the territorial mapping of
inguinal sentinel lymph nodes.
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