PP039: Comparative study between sentinel node biopsy and supra-omohioid neck dissection in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Purpose Present work carries out a prospective study comparing sentinel node biopsy (SNB) and supraomohyoid neck dissection (ND) in early (T1–T2) clinically N0 oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Material and Methods Seventy T1–T2 cN0 patients were diagnosed and treated from 2005 to 2010. To avoid ethical concerns, as ND is the accepted gold standard, we adopted a compromise solution consisting in the own patient to take the choice after detailed information. Twenty-nine opted for SNB, while 41 underwent the ND. Endpoints recorded were operating time (OT), in-hospital stay (HS), overall (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Results four of 29 patients in SNB group developed neck recurrences and 7 cervical relapses of 41 patients in ND group were found. False negative (FN) rates were 7.7% and 8.1%, giving a negative predictive value (NPV) of 92.3% and 91.9%, respectively. Significant differences were found between groups in OT and HS. Statistical differences between negative and positive-SNB groups in OS and DFS were found in log-rank test. SNB group did not demonstrate significant different OS and DFS compared with ND group. Conclusions SNB group presented a significant lower ST and HS than ND group. Similar treatment outcomes between staging groups were reflected in OS and DFS curves.