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Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for Oral Cancer: Supporting Evidence and Recent Novel Developments

  • Head and Neck Cancers (E Hanna, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Occult spread to regional lymphatics occurs in a significant percentage of patients with early-stage oral cavity cancer. While elective neck dissection continues to be the gold standard for assessing for the presence of occult regional disease, the optimal management strategy continues to evolve. Increasingly, sentinel lymph node biopsy is being recognized as a viable alternative to elective neck dissection for staging the neck in early-stage oral cavity cancer. In this article, we examine the evidence supporting sentinel lymph node biopsy for early-stage oral cancer and provide an update on some of the novel developments in this field.

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Acknowledgments

Navidea Biopharmaceuticals Inc. supported the multi-institutional clinical trial (NEO3-06) for 99mTc-tilmanocept (Lymphoseek) in head and neck cancer.

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Conflict of Interest

Stephen Y. Lai and Marcus M. Monroe each declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Marcus M. Monroe & Stephen Y. Lai

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  1. Marcus M. Monroe
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  2. Stephen Y. Lai
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Correspondence to Stephen Y. Lai.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Head and Neck Cancers

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Monroe, M.M., Lai, S.Y. Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for Oral Cancer: Supporting Evidence and Recent Novel Developments. Curr Oncol Rep 16, 385 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-014-0385-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-014-0385-1

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