Dr. Backes on the FILM Trial in Endometrial Cancer

Floor J. Backes, MD, assistant professor, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center—The James, discusses the phase III FILM trial in endometrial cancer.

FILM was a noninferiority trial that investigated the efficacy of indocyanine green and near-infrared fluorescence imaging versus isosulfan blue dye for lymph node identification in women with cervical and uterine cancer. The majority of patients enrolled on the trial had endometrial cancer although several patients with cervical cancer were also included, says Backes.

The results indicated that when blue dye was used, bilateral sentinel lymph node mapping was achieved 31.4% of the time. When green dye was used, 80.2% of bilateral sentinel lymph node mapping was achieved, suggesting that indocyanine green should be used as the standard dye for sentinel lymph node mapping in uterine cancers, concludes Backes.