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Sentinel lymph node biopsy in cutaneous melanoma
Andrea Fernandes de Oliveira1, Ivan Dunshee de Abranches Oliveira Santos, Thaís Cardoso de Mello Tucunduva
1Unit of Skin Tumors, Plastic Surgery Division, Department of Surgery, Federal University of São Paulo, SP, Brazil. drandreafernandes@terra.com.br
Purpose:
To assess the importance of sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with cutaneous melanoma.
Methods:
Ninety consecutive non-randomized patients with stages I and II melanoma who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy were followed up prospectively for six years.
Results:
Patients were followed up for a mean period of 30 months. Their mean age was 53.3 years, ranging from 12 to 83 years. Thirty patients were male (37.5%) and 50, female (62.5%). Sentinel lymph node was positive in 32.5% and negative in 67.5%. It was found that the thicker the tumor, the greater the incidence of positive sentinel lymph nodes. In the group of patients with positive sentinel lymph nodes, recurrence occurred in 43.5%, but in those with negative sentinel lymph nodes, in only 7%, what points out to the association of tumor recurrence and positive sentinel lymph nodes. There were no major postoperative complications.
Conclusion:
Sentinel lymph node biopsy was demonstrated to be a safe method for selecting patients who need therapeutic lymphadenectomy.
