• Sandeep Samant.
• Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee.
• Head Neck. 2014 Feb 1; 36 (2): 241-6.

BackgroundWe report the outcome of sentinel node biopsy (SNB) for staging the neck in a consecutive cohort of 34 patients with T1/2 clinically N0 oral carcinoma.MethodsSNB was performed along with resection of primary tumor. Neck dissection was reserved for failure of SNB or pathologically positive sentinel nodes (pN+).ResultsSentinel node identification was successful in 32 of 34 patients (94%); 2 patients with unsuccessful SNB underwent immediate neck dissection. Seven patients (21%) were pN+, 6 by SNB and 1 by elective neck dissection (END). Among 29 patients who were pN0 on SNB, nodal recurrence developed in 2 patients; both were surgically salvaged. Local failure developed in 1 patient. Two-year overall and disease-free survival was 87% and 80%, respectively.ConclusionSuccessful eradication of lymphatic metastasis noted in this study suggests that SNB may be a safe alternative to END for neck staging in patients with early oral carcinoma.Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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