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Nuyts S, Bollen H, Eisbruch A, Corry J, Strojan P, Mäkitie AA, Langendijk JA, Mendenhall WM, Smee R, DeBree R, Lee AWM, Rinaldo A, Ferlito A. Unilateral versus bilateral nodal irradiation: Current evidence in the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Head Neck 2021; 43:2807-2821. [PMID: 33871090 DOI: 10.1002/hed.26713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Revised: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancers of the head and neck region often present with nodal involvement. There is a long-standing convention within the community of head and neck radiation oncology to irradiate both sides of the neck electively in almost all cases to include both macroscopic and microscopic disease extension (so called elective nodal volume). International guidelines for the selection and delineation of the elective lymph nodes were published in the early 2000s and were updated recently. However, diagnostic imaging techniques have improved the accuracy and reliability of nodal staging and as a result, small metastases that used to remain undetected and were thus in the past included in the elective nodal volume, will now be included in high-dose volumes. Furthermore, the elective nodal areas are situated close to the parotid glands, the submandibular glands and the swallowing muscles. Therefore, irradiation of a smaller, more selected volume of the elective nodes could reduce treatment-related toxicity. Several researchers consider the current bilateral elective neck irradiation strategies an overtreatment and show growing interest in a unilateral nodal irradiation in selected patients. The aim of this article is to give an overview of the current evidence about the indications and benefits of unilateral nodal irradiation and the use of SPECT/CT-guided nodal irradiation in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Nuyts
- Laboratory of Experimental Radiotherapy, Department of Oncology, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Leuven Cancer Institute, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Heleen Bollen
- Laboratory of Experimental Radiotherapy, Department of Oncology, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Leuven Cancer Institute, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Avrahram Eisbruch
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - June Corry
- Division of Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology, St. Vincent's Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Primoz Strojan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Institute of Oncology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Antti A Mäkitie
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, HUS Helsinki University Hospital, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Johannes A Langendijk
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - William M Mendenhall
- Department of Radiation Oncology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Robert Smee
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Prince of Wales Cancer Centre, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Remco DeBree
- Department of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, UMC Utrecht Cancer Centre, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Anne W M Lee
- Department of Clinical Oncology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Alessandra Rinaldo
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Udine School of Medicine, Udine, Italy
| | - Alfio Ferlito
- International Head and Neck Scientific Group, Udine, Italy
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de Bree R, de Keizer B, Civantos FJ, Takes RP, Rodrigo JP, Hernandez-Prera JC, Halmos GB, Rinaldo A, Ferlito A. What is the role of sentinel lymph node biopsy in the management of oral cancer in 2020? Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2020; 278:3181-3191. [PMID: 33369691 PMCID: PMC8328894 DOI: 10.1007/s00405-020-06538-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Approximately 70–80% of patients with cT1-2N0 oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) ultimately prove to have no cancer in the cervical lymphatics on final pathology after selective neck dissection. As a result, sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has been adopted during the last decade as a diagnostic staging method to intelligently identify patients who would benefit from formal selective lymphadenectomy or neck irradiation. While not yet universally accepted, SLNB is now incorporated in many national guidelines. SLNB offers a less invasive alternative to elective neck dissection (END), and has some advantages and disadvantages. SLNB can assess the individual drainage pattern and, with step serial sectioning and immunohistochemistry (IHC), can enable the accurate detection of micrometastases and isolated tumor cells (ITCs). Staging of the neck is improved relative to END with routine histopathological examination. The improvements in staging are particularly notable for the contralateral neck and the pretreated neck. However, for floor of mouth (FOM) tumors, occult metastases are frequently missed by SLNB due to the proximity of activity from the primary site to the lymphatics (the shine through phenomenon). For FOM cancers, it is advised to perform either elective neck dissection or superselective neck dissection of the preglandular triangle of level I. New tracers and techniques under development may improve the diagnostic accuracy of SLNB for early-stage OSCC, particularly for FOM tumors. Treatment of the neck (either neck dissection or radiotherapy), although limited to levels I–IV, remains mandatory for any positive category of metastasis (macrometastasis, micrometastasis, or ITCs). Recently, the updated EANM practical guidelines for SLN localization in OSCC and the surgical consensus guidelines on SLNB in patients with OSCC were published. In this review, the current evidence and results of SLNB in early OSCC are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Remco de Bree
- Department of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, University Medical Center Utrecht, P.O. Box 85500, 3508 GA, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Bart de Keizer
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Francisco J Civantos
- Department of Otolaryngology, Sylvester Cancer Center, University of Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Robert P Takes
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Juan P Rodrigo
- Department of Otolaryngology, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias-University of Oviedo, ISPA, IUOPA, Oviedo, Spain
| | | | - Gyorgy B Halmos
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Alessandra Rinaldo
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Udine School of Medicine, Udine, Italy
| | - Alfio Ferlito
- International Head and Neck Scientific Group, Padua, Italy
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Mahieu R, de Maar JS, Nieuwenhuis ER, Deckers R, Moonen C, Alic L, ten Haken B, de Keizer B, de Bree R. New Developments in Imaging for Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Early-Stage Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12103055. [PMID: 33092093 PMCID: PMC7589685 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12103055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2020] [Revised: 10/03/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a diagnostic staging procedure that aims to identify the first draining lymph node(s) from the primary tumor, the sentinel lymph nodes (SLN), as their histopathological status reflects the histopathological status of the rest of the nodal basin. The routine SLNB procedure consists of peritumoral injections with a technetium-99m [99mTc]-labelled radiotracer followed by lymphoscintigraphy and SPECT-CT imaging. Based on these imaging results, the identified SLNs are marked for surgical extirpation and are subjected to histopathological assessment. The routine SLNB procedure has proven to reliably stage the clinically negative neck in early-stage oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, an infamous limitation arises in situations where SLNs are located in close vicinity of the tracer injection site. In these cases, the hotspot of the injection site can hide adjacent SLNs and hamper the discrimination between tracer injection site and SLNs (shine-through phenomenon). Therefore, technical developments are needed to bring the diagnostic accuracy of SLNB for early-stage OSCC to a higher level. This review evaluates novel SLNB imaging techniques for early-stage OSCC: MR lymphography, CT lymphography, PET lymphoscintigraphy and contrast-enhanced lymphosonography. Furthermore, their reported diagnostic accuracy is described and their relative merits, disadvantages and potential applications are outlined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rutger Mahieu
- Department of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, University Medical Center Utrecht, University of Utrecht, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands;
| | - Josanne S. de Maar
- Division of Imaging and Oncology, University Medical Center Utrecht, University of Utrecht, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands; (J.S.d.M.); (R.D.); (C.M.)
| | - Eliane R. Nieuwenhuis
- Department of Magnetic Detection & Imaging, University of Twente, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands; (E.R.N.); (L.A.); (B.t.H.)
| | - Roel Deckers
- Division of Imaging and Oncology, University Medical Center Utrecht, University of Utrecht, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands; (J.S.d.M.); (R.D.); (C.M.)
| | - Chrit Moonen
- Division of Imaging and Oncology, University Medical Center Utrecht, University of Utrecht, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands; (J.S.d.M.); (R.D.); (C.M.)
| | - Lejla Alic
- Department of Magnetic Detection & Imaging, University of Twente, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands; (E.R.N.); (L.A.); (B.t.H.)
| | - Bennie ten Haken
- Department of Magnetic Detection & Imaging, University of Twente, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands; (E.R.N.); (L.A.); (B.t.H.)
| | - Bart de Keizer
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands;
| | - Remco de Bree
- Department of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, University Medical Center Utrecht, University of Utrecht, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +31-88-7550819
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