Abstract
In the current study, the utility of sentinel node (SN) identification using indocyanine green (ICG) was investigated for oral cancers in the clinical N0 stage. The current study was a prospective, multicentre, phase II clinical trial that was conducted in Japan. A total of 18 patients were included. Before surgery, the patients underwent lymphoscintigraphy to map the SNs. During surgery, radioactive isotope (RI) mapping was used to detect the SNs, and ICG was subsequently injected. ICG mapping of the SNs was then performed through the skin. The primary tumour was resected, and a neck flap was elevated for neck dissection, followed by SN biopsy (SNB) using RI or ICG mapping. With the RI method, a total of 63 SNs were detected. Among these SNs, 8 (12.7%) were positive for metastasis, including those with isolated tumour cells (ITCs). The median number of SNs per patient identified by SNB was 4. With the ICG method, a total of 67 SNs were detected. Among these SNs, 7 (10.4%) were positive for metastasis, including those with ITCs. The median number of SNs per patient identified by SNB was 4 (range, 1-6). The 5-year overall survival (OS) of all patients was 83.3%, and the 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) of all patients was 76.7%. The neck compression technique is a simple method that can be used to facilitate surgical procedures of ICG fluorescence navigated SNB for head and neck cancer.