[Indications for prophylactic lymphadenectomy in skin melanoma of the lower limbs]

The paper discusses the influence of the 12 most important clinico-morphological factors on the incidence of regional lymph node metastases development after surgical removal of primary tumor in 229 cases of skin melanoma of the lower extremities. The following factors of risk for regional metastases development were identified: primary melanoma thickness not less than 3.0 mm after Breslow; depth of primary tumor invasion into underlying tissues after Clark et al.--IV-V; localization on foot; age of 40-59 years, and male sex. A combination of 3 or more risk factors makes the case for extensive dissection of primary tumor involving prophylactic lymphadenectomy.