Biopsy of the sentinel lymph node. It’s a credible metod to indicate de Elective neck disectión in a Head and Neck Cancer?

Abstract

It’s known that prognosis of Head Neck squamus cell carcinoma lies on the extention of regional node involvement. Clinical and radiologic asessment are not accurate with 30% of false negatives and false positives in the determination of dissese involvement. Since now the only thruthfully method was the pathologic examination of the product of a neck dissection. But we need a method that could determine wich patient woul be benefitiated with a surgery that has some grade of morbility. The identification of the sentinel node has shown its utility in breast cancer and melanoma. In this work we rewiev the literature and bring up to date the method and its results, in cancer of the Head and Neck, and we discuss the feasibility of it in our service. The identification of the sentinel node in squamous cell carcinoma, depending the anatomic area it arose, is until now an experimental method and its role in treatment reminds undefined.