Source
Department of Surgery, The Netherlands Cancer Institute/Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. s.estourgie@nki.nl
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of sentinel node biopsy in cutaneous melanoma at our institute.
METHODS:
A total of 250 patients with cutaneous melanoma were studied prospectively. Preoperative lymphoscintigraphy was performed after injection of (99m)Tc-nanocolloid intradermally around the primary tumor or biopsy site (.32 mL, 65.5 MBq [1.8 mCi]). The sentinel node was surgically identified with the aid of patent blue dye and a gamma ray detection probe. The median follow-up was 72 months.
RESULTS:
Lymphoscintigraphic visualization was 100%, and surgical identification was 99.6%. In 60 patients (24%), 1 or more sentinel nodes were tumor positive at initial pathology evaluation. Late complications after sentinel node biopsy of the remaining 190 patients were seen in 35 patients (18%). The false-negative rate was 9%. In-transit metastases were seen in 7% of sentinel node-negative and 23% of sentinel node-positive patients. The estimated 5-year overall survival rates were 89% and 64%, respectively (P <.001).
CONCLUSIONS:
This study confirms that the status of the sentinel node is a strong independent prognostic factor. The false-negative rate and the incidence of in-transit metastases in sentinel node-positive patients are high and have to be weighed against the possible survival benefit of early removal of nodal metastases.