Sentinel node biopsy has no benefit for patients whose primary cutaneous melanoma has metastasized to a lymph node and therefore should be abandoned now

British Journal of Dermatology

Volumn 151, Issue 2, 2004, Pages 298-307

  Medalie, N ^a   Ackerman, A B ^a  

^a ACKERMAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOPATHOLOGY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CANCER STAGING; CANCER SURVIVAL; HUMAN; LYMPH NODE DISSECTION; LYMPH NODE METASTASIS; LYMPHOSCINTIGRAPHY; MELANOCYTIC NEVUS; MELANOMA; PRIORITY JOURNAL; PROGNOSIS; REVIEW; SENTINEL LYMPH NODE BIOPSY; SKIN CARCINOMA;

HUMANS; LYMPHATIC METASTASIS; MELANOMA; NEVUS; PROGNOSIS; RETROSPECTIVE STUDIES; SENTINEL LYMPH NODE BIOPSY; SKIN NEOPLASMS; TIME FACTORS; UNNECESSARY PROCEDURES;

EID: 4544306921     PISSN: 00070963     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2004.06132.x     Document Type: Review

References (45)

1. Morton DL, Wen DR, Wong JH et al. Technical details of intraoperative lymphatic mapping for early stage melanoma. Arch Surg 1992; 127: 392-9.
2. McMasters ICM, Swetter SM. Current management of melanoma: benefits of surgical staging and adjuvant therapy. J Surg Oncol 2003; 82: 209-16.
3. Balch CM, Soong SJ, Bartolucci AA et al. Efficacy of an elective regional lymph node dissection of 1 to 4 mm thick melanomas for patients 60 years of age and younger. Ann Surg 1996; 224: 255-63.
4. Balch CM, Soong S, Ross MI et al. Long-term results of a multi-institutional randomized trial comparing prognostic factors and surgical results for intermediate thickness melanomas (1.0 to 4.0 mm). Intergroup Melanoma Surgical Trial. Ann Surg Oncol 2000; 7: 87-97.
5. Sim FH, Taylor WF, Ivins JC et al. A prospective randomized study of the efficacy of routine elective lymphadenectomy in management of malignant melanoma. Preliminary results. Cancer 1978; 41: 948-56.
6. Sim FH, Taylor WF, Pritchard DJ, Soule EH. Lymphadenectomy in the management of stage I malignant melanoma: a prospective randomized study. Mayo Clin Proc 1986; 61: 697-705.
7. Veronesi U, Adamus J, Bandiera DC et al. Stage I melanoma of the limbs. Immediate versus delayed node dissection. Tumori 1980; 66: 373-96.
8. Veronesi U, Adamus J, Bandiera DC et al. Delayed regional lymph node dissection in stage 1 melanoma of the skin of the lower extremities. Cancer 1982; 49: 2420-30.
9. Cascinelli N, Morabito A, Santinami M et al. Immediate or delayed dissection of regional nodes in patients with melanoma of the trunk: a randomised trial. WHO Melanoma Programme. Lancet 1998; 351: 793-6.
10. Reinigen D, Fenske N, Cruse CW, Glass F. Letter to journal. Dermatol Surg 2001; 27: 426-7.
11. Dessureault S, Soong SJ, Ross MI et al. American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Melanoma Staging Committee. Improved staging of node-negative patients with intermediate to thick melanomas (> 1 mm) with the use of lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy. Ann Surg Oncol 2001; 8: 766-70.
12. Essner R, Conforti A, Kelley MC et al. Efficacy of lymphatic mapping, sentinel lymphadenectomy, and selective complete lymph node dissection as a therapeutic procedure for early-stage melanoma. Ann Surg Oncol 1999; 6: 442-9.
13. Morton DL, Hoon DS, Cochran AJ et al. Lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymphadenectomy for early-stage melanoma: therapeutic utility and implications of nodal microanatomy and molecular staging for improving the accuracy of detection of nodal micrometastases. Ann Surg 2003; 238: 538-49.
14. Meyer HW, Gumport SL. Malignant melanoma: appraisal of the disease and analysis of one hundred five cases. Ann Surg 1953; 138: 643-60.
15. Pack GT, Scharnagel I, Morfit M. Principle of excision and dissection in continuity for primary and metastatic melanoma of skin. Surgery 1945; 17: 849-66.
16. Reintgen D, Cruse CW, Wells K et al. The orderly progression of melanoma nodal metastases. Ann Surg 1994; 220: 759-67.
17. Cameron JR. Melanoma of the skin: clinical account of series of 209 malignant melanomas of skin. J Roy Coll Surg Edinb 1968; 13: 233-54.
18. Cady B. Lymph node metastases: indicators, but not governors of survival. Arch Surg 1984; 119: 1067-72.
19. Alex JC, Krag DN. Gamma probe guided localization of lymph nodes. Surg Oncol 1993; 2: 137-43.
20. Pressman JJ, Simon MB. Experimental evidence of direct communication between lymph nodes and veins. Surg Gynecol Obstet 1961; 113: 537-41.
21. Pressman JJ, Simon MB, Hand K et al. Passage of fluid, cells and bacteria via direct communications between lymph nodes and veins. Surg Gynecol Obstet 1962; 115: 207-14.
22. Fisher B, Fisher ER. Barrier functions of lymph nodes to tumor cells and erythrocytes. Cancer 1967; 20: 1907-13.
23. Farr AG, De Bruyn PP. The mode of lymphocytic migration through postcapillary venule endothelium in lymph node. Am J Anat 1975; 143: 59-92.
24. Slingluff CL Jr, Stidham KR, Ricci WM et al. Surgical management of regional lymph nodes in patients with melanoma. Experience with 4682 patients. Ann Surg 1994; 219: 120-30.
25. Clary BM, Brady MS, Lewis JJ, Coit DG. Sentinel lymph node biopsy in the management of patients with primary cutaneous melanoma: review of a large single-institutional experience with an emphasis on recurrence. Ann Surg 2001; 233: 250-8.
26. Gershenwald JE, Colome MI, Lee JE et al. Patterns of recurrence following a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy in 243 patients with stage I or II melanoma. J Clin Oncol 1998; 16: 2253-60.
27. Gadd MA, Cosimi AB, Yu J et al. Outcome of patients with melanoma and histologically negative sentinel lymph nodes. Arch Surg 1999; 134: 381-7.
28. Li N, Mangini J, Bhawan J. New prognostic factors of cutaneous melanoma: a review of the literature. J Cutan Pathol 2002; 29: 324-40.
29. Bostick PJ, Morton DL, Turner RR et al. Prognostic significance of occult metastases detected by sentinel lymphadenectomy and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in early-stage melanoma patients. J Clin Oncol 1999; 17: 3238-44.
30. Blaheta HJ, Ellwanger U, Schittek B et al. Examination of regional lymph nodes by sentinel node biopsy and molecular analysis provides new staging facilities in primary cutaneous melanoma. J Invest Dermatol 2000; 114: 637-42.
31. Shivers SC, Wang X, Li W et al. Molecular staging of malignant melanoma: correlation with clinical outcome. JAMA 1998; 280: 1410-15.
32. Clary BM, Mann B, Brady MS et al. Early recurrence after lymphatic mapping and sentinel node biopsy in patients with primary extremity melanoma: a comparison with elective lymph node dissection. Ann Surg Oncol 2001; 8: 328-37.
33. Braun S, Cevatli BS, Assemi C et al. Comparative analysis of micrometastasis to the bone marrow and lymph nodes of node-negative breast cancer patients receiving no adjuvant therapy. J Clin Oncol 2001; 19: 1468-75.
34. Creagan ET, Dalton RJ, Ahmann DL et al. Randomized, surgical adjuvant clinical trial of recombinant interferon alfa-2a in selected patients with malignant melanoma. J Clin Oncol 1995; 13: 2776-83.
35. Kirkwood JM, Ibrahim JG, Sondak VK et al. High- and low-dose interferon alfa-2b in high-risk melanoma: first analysis of intergroup trial E1690/S9111/C9190. J Clin Oncol 2000; 18: 2444-58.
36. Kirkwood JM, Strawderman MH, Ernstoff MS et al. Interferon alfa-2b adjuvant therapy of high-risk resected cutaneous melanoma: the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Trial EST 1684. J Clin Oncol 1996; 14: 7-17.
37. Kirkwood JM, Ibrahim JG, Sosman JA et al. High-dose interferon alfa-43 significantly prolongs relapse-free and overall survival compared with the GM2-KLH/QS-21 vaccine in patients with resected stage IIB-III melanoma: results of intergroup trial E1694/S9512/C509801. J Clin Oncol 2001; 19: 2370-80.
38. Eggermont AM. The role interferon-alpha in malignant melanoma remains to be defined. Eur J Cancer 2001; 37: 2147-53.
39. Retsas S. Adjuvant therapy of malignant melanoma: is there a choice? Crit Rev Oncol Hematol 2001; 40: 187-93.
40. Lens MB, Dawes M. Interferon alfa therapy for malignant melanoma: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. J Clin Oncol 2002; 120: 1818-25.
41. Reintgen DS, Cruse CW, Glass F, Fenske N. In support of sentinel lymph node biopsy as standard of care for patients with malignant melanoma. Dermatol Surg 2000; 26: 1070-2.
42. Kelley SW, Cockerell CJ. Sentinel lymph node biopsy as an adjunct to management of histologically difficult to diagnose melanocytic lesions: a proposal. J Am Acad Dermatol 2000; 42: 527-30.
43. Lohmann CM, Coit DG, Brady MS et al. Sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with diagnostically controversial spitzoid melanocytic tumors. Am J Surg Pathol 2002; 26: 47-55.
44. Su LD, Fullen DR, Sondak VK et al. Sentinel lymph node biopsy for patients with problematic spitzoid melanocytic lesions: a report on 18 patients. Cancer 2003; 97: 499-507.
45. Zuckerman R, Maier JP, Guiney WB Jr et al. Pediatric melanoma: confirming the diagnosis with sentinel node biopsy. Ann Plast Surg 2001; 46: 394-9.