Diagnostic evaluation of sentinel lymph node biopsy in early head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in early head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

METHODS: The PubMed database was searched for studies published before October 31, 2012. Pooled values for the sentinel lymph node identification rate, sensitivity, false-negative rate, negative predictive value, and accuracy were calculated.

RESULTS: A total of 16 studies (987 patients) was included. The pooled identification rate, sensitivity, false-negative rate, negative predictive value, and accuracy were 95.2%, 86.3%, 13.7%, 94.2%, and 95.0%, respectively. The subgroup with high methodological quality showed a mean identification rate of 95.4% for SLNB validation trials and 94.2% for SLNB alone trials, and mean sensitivity of 91.0% for SLNB validation trials and 84.2% for SLNB alone trials.

CONCLUSION: The SLNB procedure has shown a high sensitivity rate, but the pooled sensitivity and false-negative rate were worse in SLNB alone trials than in SLNB validation trials.