Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy and Management of Regional Lymph Nodes in Melanoma: American Society of Clinical Oncology and Society of Surgical Oncology Clinical Practice Guideline Update (original) (raw)
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Annals of Surgical Oncology, 2012
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) sought to provide an evidence-based guideline on the use of lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy in staging patients with newly diagnosed melanoma. A comprehensive systematic review of the literature published from January 1990 through August 2011 was completed using MEDLINE and EMBASE. Abstracts from ASCO and SSO annual meetings were included in the evidence review. An Expert Panel was convened to review the evidence and develop guideline recommendations. Seventy-three studies met full eligibility criteria. The evidence review demonstrated that SLN biopsy is an acceptable method for lymph node staging of most patients with newly diagnosed melanoma. SLN biopsy is recommended for patients with intermediate-thickness melanomas (Breslow thickness, 1-4 mm) of any anatomic site; use of SLN biopsy in this population provides accurate staging. Although there are few studies focusing on patients with thick melanomas (T4; Breslow thickness, >4 mm), SLN biopsy may be recommended for staging purposes and to facilitate regional disease control. There is insufficient evidence to support routine SLN biopsy for patients with thin melanomas (T1; Breslow thickness, <1 mm), although it may be considered in selected patients with high-risk features when staging benefits outweigh risks of the procedure. Completion lymph node dissection (CLND) is recommended for all patients with a positive SLN biopsy and achieves good regional disease control. Whether CLND after a positive SLN biopsy improves survival is the subject of the ongoing Multicenter Selective Lymphadenectomy Trial II.
Sentinel lymph node biopsy for melanoma: indications and rationale
Cancer control : journal of the Moffitt Cancer Center, 2009
The disease status of regional lymph nodes is the most important prognostic indicator for patients with melanoma. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) was developed as a technique to surgically assess the regional lymph nodes and spare node-negative patients unnecessary and potentially morbid complete lymphadenectomies. We reviewed the literature on SLNB for cutaneous melanoma to provide insight into the rationale for the current widespread use of SLNB. Multiple studies show that the status of the SLN is an important prognostic indicator. Those with positive SLNs have significantly decreased disease-free and melanoma-specific survival compared with those who have negative SLNs. In the Multicenter Selective Lymphadenectomy Trial I (MSLT-I), in which patients with intermediate-thickness melanoma were randomized to SLNB (and immediate completion lymphadenectomy if the SLN was positive) vs observation (and a lymphadenectomy only after presenting with clinically evident recurrence), the 5-y...
Complications Associated With Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for Melanoma
Annals of Surgical Oncology, 2003
Background: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has become widely accepted as a method of staging the regional lymph nodes for patients with melanoma. Although it is often stated that SLN biopsy is a minimally invasive procedure associated with few complications, a paucity of data exists to specifically determine the morbidity associated with this procedure. This analysis was performed to evaluate the morbidity associated with SLN biopsy compared with completion lymph node dissection (CLND). Methods: Patients were enrolled in the Sunbelt Melanoma Trial, a prospective multi-institutional study of SLN biopsy for melanoma. Patients underwent SLN biopsy and were prospectively followed up for the development of complications associated with this technique. Patients who had evidence of nodal metastasis in the SLN underwent CLND. Complications associated with SLN biopsy alone were compared with those associated with SLN biopsy plus CLND. Results: A total of 2120 patients were evaluated, with a median follow-up of 16 months. Overall, 96 (4.6%) of 2120 patients developed major or minor complications associated with SLN biopsy, whereas 103 (23.2%) of 444 patients experienced complications associated with SLN biopsy plus CLND. There were no deaths associated with either procedure. Conclusions: SLN biopsy alone is associated with significantly less morbidity compared with SLN biopsy plus CLND.
Sentinel lymph-node biopsy after previous wide local excision for melanoma
Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie, 2001
To document experience with sentinel lymph-node biopsy in patients who have already undergone a wide local excision for melanoma because in many centres previous wide excision has been a contraindication for sentinel lymph-node biopsy. A prospective cohort study. A tertiary care academic cancer centre. One hundred patients who presented with cutaneous melanoma (depth >1 mm or Clark level IV) after having undergone wide local excision of the primary lesion that was not situated in the head or neck. The follow-up was 3 years. Sentinel lymph-node biopsy. Patients with truncal melanoma had preoperative lymphoscintigraphy to document the nodal basins at risk. Technetium-99m sulfur colloid (0.5-1 mCi in 0.5 mL) was injected intradermally around the scar, and the sentinel lymph node was excised with the aid of a hand-held gamma detector. Accuracy of the biopsy and false-negative rates in this setting. Of the 100 patients, 44 had truncal and 56 had extremity lesions. The average tumour d...
Time to reconsider the role of sentinel lymph node biopsy in melanoma
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2018
The Multicenter Selective Lymphadenectomy Trials indicate that there are no overall or melanoma-specific survival advantages to performing sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) followed by immediate completion lymph node dissection compared with wide excision and observation for patients with positive sentinel nodes. These results make SLNB solely a staging procedure. The role of SLNB in the management of patients with melanoma deserves reappraisal. The potential marginal benefit of SLNB beyond the clinical and pathologic features of the melanoma has not been well studied. The use of sentinel lymph node status alone to accept and stratify patients into trials or to receive adjuvant treatment is not rational.
Annals of Surgery, 2001
To analyze the authors' experience with sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) and the subsequent incidence and pattern of recurrence in patients with positive and negative nodes. Summary Background Data Lymphatic mapping with SLNB has become widely accepted in the management of patients with melanoma who are at risk for occult regional lymph node metastases. Because this procedure is relatively new, the pattern of recurrence after SLNB is not yet clear. Methods All patients with primary cutaneous melanoma who underwent SLNB from 1991 through 1998 were identified from a prospective single-institution melanoma database. Results Three hundred fifty-seven consecutive patients with localized primary cutaneous melanoma who underwent SLNB were identified. The sentinel node was identified in 332 patients (93%) and was positive in 56 (17%). Fourteen percent of patients had developed a recurrence at a median follow-up of 24 months. The median time to recurrence was 13 months. The 3-year relapse-free survival rates for patients with positive and negative nodes were 56% and 75%, respectively. SLN status was the most important predictor of disease recurrence. The site of first recurrence in patients with negative and positive nodes was more commonly locoregional than distant. Reexamination of the SLN in 11 patients with negative nodes with initial nodal and in-transit recurrence showed evidence of metastases in 7 (64%). Conclusions Patients with positive sentinel nodes have a significantly increased risk for recurrence. The early pattern of first recurrence for patients with negative and positive results is characterized by a preponderance of locoregional sites, similar to that reported in previous series of elective lymph node dissection. These data underscore the need for careful pathologic analysis of the SLN as well as a careful, directed locoregional physical examination in the follow-up of these patients. In 1999, an estimated 44,200 cases of melanoma were diagnosed in the United States alone, and the incidence of this malignancy continues to increase. 1 There is controversy over the optimal surgical management of patients with disease clinically limited to the primary cutaneous lesion. The main point of contention continues to be the management of the regional nodal basins that drain the site of the primary lesion in patients at risk for nodal metastases. Several retrospective series suggested a survival benefit for patients undergoing elective lymph node dissection (ELND). 2-6 In these studies, the benefit appeared to be limited to patients with intermediate-thickness melanomas. The results of prospective randomized trials have been mixed, although significant differences exist in their scope and design. The largest and most recent trial, the Intergroup Melanoma Surgical Trial, included patients with 1-to 4-mm primary cutaneous melanomas. Lymphoscintigraphy was performed on all patients with truncal lesions. In this trial,
Sentinel lymph node biopsy in melanoma patients: the medical oncologist's perspective
Journal of Surgical Oncology, 2004
With the advent of sentinel node (sN) biopsy in melanoma patients, elective lymph node dissection (ELND) can be considered an exceeded procedure. Regardless of the possible therapeutic benefits, sN biopsy efficiently predicts prognosis avoiding the morbidity rate of ELND. The importance of the sN is underlined by multivariate analyses, which show that the sN status represents the most important prognostic factor influencing disease-free and distant disease-free survival in patients with stage I and II melanoma. Moreover, sN biopsy provides a minimally invasive method for identifying those patients with subclinical nodal metastasis who actually have stage III disease, with a very high risk of occult distant metastases and who may benefit by adjuvant therapy.
[Sentinel lymph node biopsy in melanoma patients: methods, indications, and clinical significance]
Medicina, 2003
The incidence of melanoma in Lithuania has doubled over the last decade. Sentinel lymph node biopsy, currently becoming a standard method in the US and Europe, is a minimal invasive and highly sensitive surgical procedure. It can be used for the detection of melanoma micrometastasis in regional lymph nodes in cases when non-invasive methods fail to reveal them. Both disease-free survival and disease-specific survival were significantly better for patients with a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy. A. Breslow thickness, W. H. Clark level, and ulceration of the melanoma were strong predictors, but not as strong as the histological status of the sentinel lymph node. The procedure for sentinel lymph node biopsy is nowadays standardized, including preoperative dynamic lymphoscintigraphy combined with intraoperative gamma probe guidance and blue-dye injection. The aim of this article is to present an update of the sentinel lymph node biopsy method and the prognostic significance of this procedure on the basis of more than 400 sentinel lymph node biopsy's carried out at the Department of Dermatology of the Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg since 1997 and the results of recently published studies in the literature.
American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2018
Although significant progress has been made in the understanding of melanoma pathophysiology and therapy, patients with metastatic melanoma still have a poor prognosis. The management of regional nodes remains a matter of debate. By replacing elective lymph node dissection, sentinel lymph node biopsy has revolutionized the treatment of malignant melanoma. In this paper, the history of the procedure is traced, and the indication for completion lymphadenectomy after positive sentinel node biopsy is discussed in light of the recent studies that addressed this issue. The role of adjuvant therapies in the management of patients with stage III melanoma is also discussed. Key Points Surgery is the mainstay of treatment in the early stages of malignant cutaneous melanoma. Sentinel node biopsy, a minimally invasive surgical technique introduced in the 1990's, has profoundly transformed the method of nodal staging and melanoma treatment. Sentinel node status has proven to be the most significant prognostic indicator in patients with localized intermediate-thickness cutaneous melanoma.