Abstract

CREO MARTINEZ, Teresa; MARIN LAPEIRA, Yolanda  and  ROLLON MAYORDOMO, Ángel. Ultrasound characteristics of malignant sub-clinical cervical lymph nodes in patients with oral epidermoid carcinoma. Rev Esp Cirug Oral y Maxilofac [online]. 2010, vol.32, n.3, pp.95-101. ISSN 2173-9161.

Oral carcinoma of oral cavity spread subclinical neck metastasis in 30-40%, this situation justify elective neck dissection in treatment. The availability of diagnostic test that allow detect neck metastasis would avoid overtreatment in 60-70% of patients with cost and morbidity associated. Neck ultrasound detect subclinical metastasis with different sensitivity and specificity. Objectives: Use ultrasound for detect metastatic lymph nodes before surgical treatment. Materials and method: We make a prospective follow up of patients with diagnosis squamous carcinoma of oral cavity in stage I-II in our services. We make an ultrasound study (with long wave) before surgery treatment. We check and apply different malignant criteria that we get from literature. We compare ultrasound information with pathological results of cervical dissection, this is our gold standard for metastasis. Results: We studied 48 patients with diagnostic of oral carcinoma in stage I-II, 34 men and 14 women with medium age of 50 years old. We make neck dissection, and we find metastatic lymph nodes in 30%, with our criteria for detection of metastatic lymph node with ultrasound we obtain a sensitivity until 0.93 and a specificity until 0.91 depend on used criteria.

Keywords : Metastatic lymph node; Detection of metastasis with ultrasounds; Oral cavity carcinoma; Squamous cell carcinoma; Cervical staging; Early detection of occult lymph nodes; Cervical dissection.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )