title: Staging of early lymph node metastases with the sentinel lymph node technique and predictive factors in T1/T2 oral cavity cancer: A retrospective single-center study.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the diagnostic accuracy of detecting lymph node metastases and to identify predictive and prognostic clinicopathological factors in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) undergoing sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB).
  
  
  
  All patients diagnosed with cT1 to T2N0 OSCC who underwent a diagnostic SLNB between 2007 and 2013 were included.
  
  
  
  We identified 253 patients, of whom 27% had a positive sentinel lymph node (SLB). The false-negative rate, sensitivity, and negative predictive value (NPV) were 5%, 88%, and 95%, respectively. Patients with micrometastases as well as macrometastases had a separately, significantly shorter disease-specific survival than patients with pN0 disease. In a logistic regression model, the maximum tumor thickness, perineural invasion, and differentiation grade were independent predictive factors for the presence of metastases.
  
  
  
  These data support the use of the SLNB technique as an accurate and safe staging tool in patients with OSCC with a cN0 neck. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E1033-E1040, 2016.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Audiology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Nicklas Juel
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Audiology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: David Hebbelstrup
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Audiology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Nora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hedbäck
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Audiology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Frendø
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Katalin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kiss
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Giedrius
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lelkaitis
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mortensen
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Audiology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Specht
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Audiology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: von Buchwald
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
keywords: negative predictive value; oral squamous cell carcinoma; predictive histopathological factors; sentinel lymph node biopsy; survival