Evaluation of sentinel node biopsy for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a standard care for cutaneous melanoma but its role in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) has not been established. Clinical data was obtained from 54 patients with SCC who received SLNB with the usage of blue dye and radioisotope colloid methods. The positive rate of SLNB in SCC was 7.4%. If the cases were limited to more than T2, the positive rate was 12.9%. Three of 41 patients who was estimated negative LN metastasis by the preoperative tests had micrometastasis (7.3%). Among 13 patients who were suggested to have metastasis in the preoperative tests, only one patient had histological metastasis. One patient with SCC located in the lower lip showed negative SLNB and subsequently developed node recurrence. In conclusion, the efficacy of SLNB in SCC is comparable to that of melanoma in the positive rate. There are two kinds of benefit, avoidance of unnecessary complete lymph node dissection and early detection of metastasis.