The role of sentinel lymph node biopsy in head and neck cancer

Secondary lesion of the lymph nodes of the neck is a significant factor in the prognosis and choice of surgical tactics in patients with malignant neoplasms of the head and neck organs. In early cases of the disease, in order to identify latent metastases, a sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy can be performed, according to the results of which it is possible to assume the probability of damage to the remaining groups of cervical lymph nodes and conclude that cervical lymph dissection is necessary.

Purpose of the study. Discussion of the achievements of the scientific community regarding the role of sentinel lymph node biopsy in malignant tumors of the head and neck, and analysis of current detection methods.

Materials and methods. The analysis of scientific sources of the Scientific Electronic Library databases is carried out "eLIBRARY.RU" and "National Center for Biotechnology Information" published in the period from 2010 to 2025, demonstrating the main indicators of the clinical informativeness (frequency of detection, diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, predictive value of a negative result) of various methods of detecting sentinel lymph nodes in patients with malignant neoplasms of the head and neck.

Results. Several methods are used to identify sentinel lymph nodes, including instrumental, contrast-visual, radioisotopic, fluorescent, and combined techniques, each having specific advantages and limitations. The most common in clinical practice is the radioisotope detection method, which makes it possible to detect the accumulation of a radiopharmaceutical drug both at the preoperative stage and intraoperatively.

Conclusion. To overcome the limitations of individual lymphography methods, new indicators, including hybrid agents, are being actively developed, offering significant prospects for practical medicine and further scientific research.

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