Application of the sentinel lymph node biopsy technique in laryngological oncology

Neoplasms of the head and neck stands for 6th most common malignant neoplasms in terms of morbidity in Poland. The effectiveness of the treatment depends on the complete resection and presence of the lymphatic metastases, detection of which might not be possible at the moment of diagnosis. Routine performance of the elective neck dissection among patients without lymphadenopathy (cN0) may favour the occurrence of surgical complication and seems to be too invasive procedure, particularly in group with non-advanced tumours (cT1-2). The sentinel lymph node biopsy is diagnostic procedure, which allows to exclude presence of metastases in nodes draining lymph directly from primary tumour. This technique let for a limitation of the extent of the procedure and the evaluation of the lymphatic tissue under the microscope in order to exclude presence of neoplastic cells. Sentinel lymph node biopsy is commonly use among patients with malignant melanoma of the skin and breast cancer. Multiple studies prove its usefulness during treatment of patients with head and neck cancer.