In this retrospective review, total sentinel lymph node tumor size was significantly predictive of metastasis and survival.
Standard current treatment for patients with a positive sentinel node (SN) biopsy is complete node dissection. However, only about 20% of such patients have additional tumor in nonsentinel nodes (NSNs). To identify factors that predict which SN-positive patients are more likely to have NSN metastasis, these authors retrospectively studied data from a melanoma database in Australia on 606 patients who had a complete lymph node dissection following positive sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy.
The researchers computed the total tumor volume within the SLNs in these patients by adding the largest diameters of all metastatic deposits in all SNs. This measure, the “total SLN tumor size,” was found to be significantly predictive of NSN metastasis, me…
Reviewing Author
DisclosuresConsultant / Advisory boardAmway
Editorial boards JAMA Dermatology; Dermatologic Surgery; Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology; Lasers in Medical Science; Skin Therapy Letter
Leadership positions in professional societies American Academy of Dermatology (Chair, Health Care Finance Committee); American College of Mohs Surgery (Board of Directors); American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (Board of Directors)
DisclosuresConsultant / Advisory boardAmway
Editorial boards JAMA Dermatology; Dermatologic Surgery; Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology; Lasers in Medical Science; Skin Therapy Letter
Leadership positions in professional societies American Academy of Dermatology (Chair, Health Care Finance Committee); American College of Mohs Surgery (Board of Directors); American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (Board of Directors)