Sentinel Lymph Node Centered Selective Neck Dissection Does Not Have Benefits Over Supraomohyoid Neck Dissection in Patients with cT1T2N0 Tongue Cancer

Abstract

Background and Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of sentinel node centered selective neck dissection in patients with early stage tongue cancer (T1T2N0). Subjects and Method Lymphoscintigraphy was performed for 12 patients, subsequently followed by sentinel node centered selective neck dissection. The location of the sentinel node, pathological confirmation of node metastasis, and follow-up recurrence were analyzed. Results In total, 19 sentinel lymph nodes were identified. Of these, 18 were located in levels I to III, and one in level IV. After surgery, 3 patients (25%) were diagnosed with neck node metastasis: two experienced sentinel node metastasis and one experienced skipped metastasis. During follow-up, 3 of the 12 patients (25%) experienced recurrence. Conclusion The recurrence of lymph node could be covered with supraomohyoid neck dissection, which indicates that it has superiority over sentinel node centered selective neck dissection in preventing recurrence in T1T2N0 tongue cancer patients. Key words: Lymphoscintigraphy ㆍ Neck dissection ㆍ Sentinel lymph node ㆍ Tongue cancer