A single-center retrospective study on 659 re-excisions of melanoma and 769 sentinel node biopsies in 2008–2012

Abstract

Background

Sentinel node biopsy (SNB) is a staging procedure used for diagnostic purpose in melanoma patients with a high risk of nodal micrometastasis. This study aimed to describe the treatment and outcome of patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma and SNB at a single center in Denmark.

Methods

In a retrospective design, all patients with melanoma who underwent SNB in 2008–2012 were included in the study. Patients were stratified according to tumor thickness and ulceration. The outcomes were measured in terms of node positivity rate, postoperative complications, recurrence, and overall survival of the patients.

Results

A total of 769 SNB procedures were performed. No metastases were found in any non-sentinel node biopsies. Nodal metastasis occurred in 24 % of all patients. The mean tumor thickness was larger in patients with a positive SNB (3.2 (0.7–15) mm) compared to no nodal metastasis (1.9 (0.3–32) mm) (p < 0.0001). The five-year disease-free survival rates were 90.3 % [95 % confidence interval (CI) 85.2–93.7 %] in patients without nodal metastasis and 48.6 % (95 % CI 36.3–59.7 %) in patients with a positive SNB (p < 0.0001). Tumor thickness, ulceration, and nodal metastasis predicted poorer prognosis. One or more complications occurred in 9.6 % of the patients subsequent to SNB.

Conclusions

SNB represents the most important step in workup for regional metastasis in patients with melanoma. We confirmed that Breslow thickness, ulceration, and nodal metastasis were important predictors of prognosis. This study demonstrated results from a university hospital in Denmark similar to other epidemiological evaluations of melanoma and SNB.

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from #Med Blogs by Alexandros G.Sfakianakis via paythelady61 on Inoreader http://ift.tt/1lHGvLH
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