Sentinel node identification in laryngeal and pharyngeal carcinoma after flexible endoscopy-guided tracer injection under topical anesthesia: A feasibility study.

BACKGROUND:The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of flexible endoscopy-guided tracer injection for sentinel lymph node (SLN) identification in patients with laryngeal and pharyngeal carcinoma. METHODS:Sixteen cT1-4N0-2M0 patients with laryngeal or pharyngeal carcinoma underwent intra- and peritumoral [ 99mRESULTS:Tracer injection and visualization of SLNs was successful in 15/16 (94%) patients. Median number of tracer injections was 1 intratumoral and 3 peritumoral. The median duration of the endoscopic procedure including tracer injection after biopsy taking was 7 min (range 4-16 min). A total of 28 SLNs were identified which were all visualized on the early and late SPECT-CT. Most SLNs were visualized in neck levels II and III. CONCLUSIONS:Flexible endoscopy-guided tracer injection for SLN identification is a feasible and fast procedure in laryngeal and pharyngeal carcinoma patients.