RF-Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Head and Neck Melanoma.

Abstract

Lymph node invasion is a factor for poor prognosis in melanoma and selective sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is the technique of choice for lymph node staging. Since 2012, most clinical practice guidelines recommend SLNB in melanomas atleast 1 mm thick (in reality, in melanomas with a Breslow depth greater than 0.8 mm or with unfavorable prognostic factors such as ulceration) for patients with no clinical evidence of lymph node enlargement and without contraindications for the procedure. Although such biopsies have not been shown to specifically prolong survival, enable early and more precise staging of patients, making many of them candidates for adjuvant treatment and so able to benefit from greater secondary survival. However, at times, adherence to the guidelines is limited, as shown in a recent study reporting that the recommendations concerning SLNB are followed in 39.7% of patients with melanoma.1 Site, sex, sage, race, and even socioeconomic factors seem to influence whether the procedure is performed