Sentinel Lymph Node Mapping of Oral Cancer Using Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging (SLN Mapping)

Cervical lymph node involvement, in head and cancer neck patients, is one of the most important prognostic factors. Currently patients undergo neck dissection removing some or all nodes and neck involvement is retrospectively determined. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) identification and biopsy has become clinical practise in other areas including breast, skin, and gastric cancer. The gold standard for detecting metastatic lymph nodes is pathological analysis, but the lack of an accurate or clinically accepted way to identify sentinel lymph nodes in the cervical region has motivated the usage of indocyanine green (ICG) and near-infrared fluorescence (NIR) imaging (Pinpoint, Novadaq, Waterloo). A prospective clinical trial using a commercially available NIR system and ICG injection around the tumour site will evaluate the ability to detect and biopsy sentinel lymph nodes in head and neck cancer patients.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Head and Neck Neoplasms
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Indocyanine Green (ICG); Procedure: Sentinel lymph node mapping; Device: near-infrared fluorescence (NIR) imaging (Pinpoint, Novadaq, Waterloo)

Detailed Description

Clinical systems for fluorescence imaging using ICG have recently been published with reported SLN identification rates of 94-100% in breast and colorectal cancers. The traditional radioisotope method enables navigation to the site of skin incision by measurement of radiation uptake, whereas the ICG fluorescence method can precisely identify the site of skin incision by tracing the lymphatic vessels across the skin and without radiation exposure. Systematic reviews have shown that the incidence of false negative SLN biopsy is high in head and neck applications. Therefore, the fluorescence SLN method, can potentially provide more precise information regarding which lymph nodes should be removed. As the ICG fluorescence technique can identify the basin that includes not only SLNs but also para-SLNs where the lymphatic vessels drain, the average number of lymph nodes removed also tends to increase. In preliminary studies, the ICG technique achieves a high identification rate comparable to that of the radioactive method. There has been to date, however, only limited studies of this technique in the area of oral cancer lymph node mapping. In our study we propose to evaluate the potential application of ICG in the mapping and detection of SLN in cancers of the head and neck in comparison with the radioactive agent method. We hypothesize that NIR-guided SLNB could present a new, safe and sensitive alternative or addition to the conventional SLN procedure.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 1
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Ontario
    • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 2C4
      • University Health Network

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 16 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• The study will include patients with tumors or other masses in the following sites: oral cavity, oropharynx, nasal cavity, sinuses, nasopharynx, parapharyngeal space, parotid salivary glands, head and neck skin and skull base.
• N0 neck status
• The patients should have a complete and detailed medical record.
• Subjects must be at least 18 years of age.
• Subjects must sign and be given a copy of the written Informed Consent Form.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients who are not able to consent by themselves or grasp the implication of the study.
• Subjects participating in any other clinical trial during the time of this clinical investigation and that may have an impact on this evaluation.
• Pregnant or potentially pregnant woman
• Lactation.
• Iodine, shellfish, cough mixture, betadine or ICG allergy

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Other: Surgical - therapeutic; patients will be enrolled under informed consent based upon their medical diagnosis, planned surgical procedures, and suitability for the procedure. During the study, patients will receive injections of ICG and will be imaged using a commercial NIR imaging system

Drug: Indocyanine Green (ICG); Procedure: Sentinel lymph node mapping; Thirty (30) patients will be enrolled under informed consent based upon their medical diagnosis, planned surgical procedures, and suitability for the procedure. During the study, patients will receive injections of ICG and will be imaged using a commercial NIR imaging system (Pinpoint, Novadaq, Waterloo ON). After the study, patients will continue with their planned management.; Other Names: near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent dye indocyanine green; Device: near-infrared fluorescence (NIR) imaging (Pinpoint, Novadaq, Waterloo)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
ICG imaging to identify lymph nodes metastases in head and neck cancer	The aim of this proposal is to evaluate the potential application of Indocyanine Green (ICG) in the mapping and detection of sentinel lymph nodes (SLN) in cancers of the head and neck.	During surgical procedure

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Health Network, Toronto
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jonathan C Irish, MD, University Health Network, Toronto

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: May 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 8, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): January 8, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 1, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 22, 2015
• First Posted (Estimated): June 23, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): April 15, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 11, 2024
• Last Verified: April 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Stomatognathic Diseases; Mouth Diseases; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Mouth Neoplasms
• Other Study ID Numbers: 14-7441