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Updated: May 20, 2026
Sentinel Lymph Node Mapping and Biopsy for Endometrial Cancer at Early Stage with Laparoscopy
Published on: August 19, 2021
Sentinel node biopsy in early oral squamous cell carcinomas: a 10-year experience
Antoine E Melkane1, Gérard Mamelle, Gregory Wycisk
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Gustave Roussy Institute, Villejuif, France. antoinemelkane@gmail.com
Objectives/Hypothesis:
To evaluate the reliability of the sentinel node (SN) biopsy in early oral squamous cell carcinomas.
Study Design:
Prospective cohort study.
Methods:
We conducted a primary prospective study on 53 consecutive patients presenting T1, T2 N0 squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity between January 2000 and June 2003. Primary results demonstrated a negative predictive value of 100%. The series was then extended until June 2010, with a total number of 166 successful procedures.
Results:
The cohort accounted for 118 males and 48 females with a mean age of 56 years. The median follow-up period was 36 months. There were 42 patients (25%) with positive SNs, 14 of them (33%) only harboring micrometastasis. The negative predictive value of the sentinel node biopsy was 95.2%. The SN involvement was strongly correlated with the tumor location (34% of SN+ for the tongue vs. 13% for the floor of mouth, P = .003), tumor stage (18% of SN+ for T1 vs. 40% for T2, P = .002), depth of invasion (median depth for SN+ lesions was 6.5 mm vs. 4 mm for SN- lesions, P = .028), and lymphovascular involvement (P = .002). The false-negative rate of frozen section examination was 42%.
Conclusions:
The sentinel node biopsy appears to be an excellent staging method in early oral cancers. This study also provides evidence that routinely undiagnosed micrometastasis may have clinical significance.
