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[Sentinel node biopsy in patients with oral cancer: a pilot study]
Joaquín Anmella1, Manuel Fraile, Agustí Salavert
1Servicio de Cirugía Maxilofacial, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, España.
Background And Objective:
Sentinel node (SN) biopsy represents an alternative to full lymph node dissection in the surgical treatment of several malignant tumors.
Patients And Method:
Prospective study of 32 consecutive patients with clinically node-negative oral cancer comparing SN biopsy results with standard neck dissection.
Results:
An effective SN localization was achieved in 31 patients (97%) and a complete agreement with neck dissection was observed: 16 were true negative and 15 were true positive. In 11 out of the 15 positive cases, the SN was the only node containing metastasis (73%).
Conclusion:
SN biopsy predicts the subclinical lymph node status in oral cancer patients.