RATIONALE: Diagnostic procedures to detect cancer cells in sentinel lymph nodes may help plan effective cancer treatment. PURPOSE: Diagnostic trial to study the effectiveness of lymph node mapping and sentinel lymph node lymphadenectomy in patients who are undergoing surgery to remove early-stage cancer of the mouth.
OBJECTIVES: * Determine whether a negative hematoxylin and eosin finding from the lymphatic mapping and sentinel node lymphadenectomy procedure accurately predicts the negativity of the other cervical lymph nodes in patients with stage I or II squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. * Determine the extent and pattern of disease spread in the nodal bed in these patients. * Obtain data on the use of immunohistochemistry to assess nodes in these patients.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
161
Proportion of non-SLN(s) negative patients
Time frame: Up to 30 days
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