Sentinel lymph node biopsy in thyroid cancer – literature review

Abstract

Thyroid cancer has been usually treated by total or near total thyroidectomy in association with cervical lymph node dissection and followed by adjuvant oncological and endocrinological treatment. In order to maximize the effect of the surgical approach and to minimize the perioperative rates of complications, certain authors proposed the introduction of the sentinel node detection; however, the method has certain particularities due to the complex lymphatic anatomy of the cervical region. This is a literature review of the more significant studies conducted so far on this theme.