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Updated: Oct 17, 2026
Analysis of Lymph Node Volume by Ultra-High-Frequency Ultrasound Imaging in the Braf/Pten Genetically Engineered Mouse Model of Melanoma
Published on: September 8, 2021
Lymphatic Mapping to the Inguinal Region in Patients with Lower Extremity Melanoma Undergoing Radical Inguinal Lymph
Zhichao Tan1, Yue Sun2,3, Yunxiao Zhang4
1Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, 100142 Beijing, China.
Background/Objectives:
The anatomical distribution of inguinal lymph node (ILN) metastases may inform research on the extent of therapeutic dissection for lower-limb melanoma.
Methods:
Fifty-eight patients undergoing radical inguinal lymph node dissection (rILND) were retrospectively evaluated using five anatomical zones. Zone-specific node counts were reaggregated, and exploratory binary logistic regression assessed multiple-zone involvement.
Results:
The cohort included 48 clinically node-positive and 10 sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB)-positive patients. Among 816 mapped ILNs, 149 were positive. Zone I contained 102/149 positive nodes (68.5%); within-zone positivity was 102/303 (33.7%) in zone I, 27/243 (11.1%) in zone II, 13/190 (6.8%) in zone III, 3/39 (7.7%) in zone IV, and 4/41 (9.8%) in zone V. Five patients had no positive mapped ILNs. Zone I contained the only positive node in 19/20 patients (95.0%) and was the sole involved zone in 32/33 patients with single-zone involvement (97.0%). Twenty patients had multiple-zone involvement. In a two-variable complete-case model (50 patients; 18 events), ≥3 positive ILNs remained associated with multiple-zone involvement (adjusted odds ratio, 34.80; 95% confidence interval, 5.88-206.08), whereas extranodal extension did not.
Conclusions:
This small, selected cohort provides preliminary pathological evidence of preferential inferior-zone involvement. It does not establish sequential spread or the oncological safety of reduced rILND. External and prospective validation are required.
