Table 1.
An overview of various studies using SPECT/CT in the context of lymphatic mapping for SNB in OSCC.
| Study group | Number of patients (n) | SPECT/CT and the reported detection of SLN's | The value of SPECT/CT according to the authors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Even-Sapir et al. [15] | 6 | 3 additional nodes detected in 6 patients compared to lymphoscintigraphy alone | SPECT/CT adds data that is of clinical relevance to SNB in patients with mucosal HNSCC |
|
| |||
| Lopez et al. [16] | 10 | 100% visualization of the SLN's by SPECT/CT | SPECT/CT is shown to be an effective method for anatomic localization of the SLN's in N0 OSCC |
|
| |||
| Wagner et al. [17] | 30 | 11 additional nodes out of 49 SLNs detected compared to lymphoscintigraphy alone | SPECT/CT adds additional information regarding nodes that are adjacent to the primary lesion |
|
| |||
| Thomsen et al. [18] | 40 | SPECT/CT and/or added oblique images revealed extra nodes in 15/40 patients. | SPECT/CT has added information which could not have been obtained from planar lymphoscintigraphy |
|
| |||
| Terada et al. [19] | 15 | 100% visualization of the SLN's by SPECT/CT | SPECT/CT proved to be an easy, accurate, and reliable method |
|
| |||
| Khafif et al. [20] | 20 | SPECT/CT improved SLN identification and/or localization compared with planar images in 6 patients (30%) | SPECT/CT provides additional preoperative data of clinical relevance to SNB in patients with OSCC |
|
| |||
| Bilde et al. [21] | 34 | SPECT/CT demonstrated extra SLN's compared to planar imaging in 15 out of 32 patients (47%) | SPECT/CT detects more SLN's than lymphoscintigraphy and provides additional anatomical and spatial information about their localization. |
|
| |||
| Keski-Säntti et al. [22] | 15 | 1 additional SLN located in the jugular chain detected compared to lymphoscintigraphy alone | SPECT/CT enables more accurate localization of the SLN's, but it rarely reveals SLN's, that are not detected on planar images. |
|
| |||
| Haerle et al. [23] | 58 | 11 additional hot spots could be revealed by SPECT/CT compared to lymphoscintigraphy alone. In one case even with additional occult disease. | SPECT/CT has the potential to detect more SLN's, which might harbour occult disease, than lymphoscintigraphy alone. |
SNB: sentinel node biopsy; OSCC: oral/oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma; HNSCC: head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; SLN: sentinel lymph node.