Cytokeratin 19 expression in early oral squamous cell carcinoma and their metastasis: Inadequate biomarker for one-step nucleic acid amplification implementation in sentinel lymph node biopsy procedure.

CK19 lacks both sensitivity and specificity as a biomarker for nodal metastasis in OSCC, which questions the suitability for CK19-based one-step nucleic acid amplification in SLNB procedures. Therefore, future studies should focus on other biomarkers, because the concept of fast intraoperative diagnostics during SLNB remains attractive.