Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe the oncological results of a prospective study in the use of sentinel lymph node biopsy as part of the surgical treatment of squamous cell carcinoma T1/T2N0 of the oral cavity in comparison to the results of patients submitted to levels I, II and III SND. METHODS: It was a prospective study in which seventy patients were divided into two groups, 35 being submitted to SND and the other 35 to SLB. RESULTS: In the SND group, locoregional recurrence occurred in 17.1%, with a 2.9% development of distant metastasis and 8.8% evolved with a second primary tumor. In the SLB, locoregional recurrence was observed in 7 patients (20.0%), 5.7% developed distant metastasis, and 5.7% had a second primary tumor. There was no significant difference between the two groups for both overall (p = 0.521) and disease-free survival (p = 0.753). CONCLUSION: A SLB is reliable for the management of clinically negative neck in patients with oral T1/T2N0 squamous cell carcinoma. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.