Prognostic Role of Non-Identification of Sentinel Lymph Node in Cutaneous Melanoma Patients: An Observational Retrospective Study

Simple Summary Sentinel lymph node status is the most important prognostic factor for patients with cutaneous melanoma, but occasionally it is not possible to identify the sentinel lymph node. Little is known in cutaneous melanoma literature about the phenomenon of non-identification of sentinel lym...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Moro, R, Arjona-Aguilera, C, Requena, C, Pont-Sanjuan, V, Traves, V, Manrique-Silva, E, Nagore, E
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Recursos:Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana (FISABIO)
Repositorio:r-FISABIO. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica
OAI Identifier:oai:fisabio.fundanetsuite.com:p10845
Acesso em linha:https://fisabio.portalinvestigacion.com/publicaciones/10845
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:melanoma
lymph node biopsy
sentinel
identification
Descrição
Resumo:Simple Summary Sentinel lymph node status is the most important prognostic factor for patients with cutaneous melanoma, but occasionally it is not possible to identify the sentinel lymph node. Little is known in cutaneous melanoma literature about the phenomenon of non-identification of sentinel lymph node and its prognostic implications. In this study we observed that not identifying the sentinel lymph node involves a worse nodal disease-free survival, but not a worse melanoma-specific survival than a negative sentinel lymph node. Potentially, patients with non-identified SLN should receive a follow-up schedule like that of patients with positive SLN. Background: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) status is recognized as the most important prognostic factor for patients with cutaneous melanoma. However, sometimes it is not possible to identify SLN. The phenomenon of non-identification of SLN and its prognostic role have not been thoroughly evaluated in melanoma literature. The objective of this study was to identify which patient or tumor variables may be associated to non-identification of SLN and to evaluate the prognostic role of non-identification of SLN. Methods: Observational retrospective study of 834 cutaneous melanoma patients who underwent SLN biopsy at Instituto Valenciano de Oncologia. Results: Forty-two patients (5%) presented non-identification of SLN. Patients with age at diagnosis of >= 64 years, obesity (BMI >= 30), and head and neck localization were at higher risk of non-identification of SLN. Non-identified SLN patients had worse nodal disease-free survival with respect to negative SLN patients, but not worse melanoma-specific survival. Conclusions: Our findings suggest a need to follow-up patients with non-identified SLN in the same way as patients with positive SLN.