Lese et al — Transcutaneous ICG Sensitivity Study
Examines ICG-only detection rate vs lymphoscintigraphy (LS).
Key findings — verified
- BMI < 30 kg/m²: 96.2% identification rate; BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²: statistically significant drop in sensitivity (p = .0045)
- Cases exist where ICG revealed SLNs that LS missed, and vice versa — positives and negatives on both sides
- LS nodes with the highest Tc-99m count are not always the true SLN → can produce false positives
My take
Confirms the BMI-dependent limitation is real, not anecdotal. Also good evidence for the “complementary, not either/or” framing — both modalities have blind spots the other can cover.