[Role and perspectives of sentinel node biopsy in head and neck tumors].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the accuracy of sentinel node biopsy for assessing the neck status for those patients with squamous cell carcinoma T1T2N0 of oral cavity.


METHODS
55 patients were included in a prospective study between 2000 and 2003. 53 underwent a sentinel node biopsy (SNB) followed by an elective neck dissection (END). Pathological examination with stepped serial sectioning and immunohistochemistry of sentinel node (SN) has been compared with routine pathology examination of remaining END nodes.


RESULTS
12 patients had a positive SN. No false negative was found. Patient follow up on, at less of 3 years, did not show any node recurrence for those patients with negative SN. After that study, 44 patients had a SNB without END. 7 patients had a positive SN. Follow up showed a node recurrence for 3 patients. In two of these, pathological reexamination showed a micrometastase in SN. SN failure rate is less than 3% for those 99 patients.


CONCLUSIONS
SNB is a liable procedure. Failure rate is the same as in END. We plan to use this procedure in orophyngeal tumors where it could be possible to reduce irradiation fields and treatment sequels for those patients with negative SN.
Mamelle
G
G
Département de Chirurgie Cervicofaciale, Institut Gustave-Roussy, 39, Rue Camille-Desmoulins, 94805 Villejuif Cedex, France. gmamelle@igr.fr
Temam
S
S
Casiraghi
O
O
Lumbroso
J
J
Laplanche
A
A
Bourhis
J
J
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy / Q000379:methods*; D013667:Technetium; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D013667:Technetium