BACKGROUND Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has emerged as a widely used staging procedure for cutaneous melanoma. However, debate remains around the accuracy and prognostic implications of SLNB for cutaneous melanoma arising in the head and neck, as previous reports have demonstrated inferior results to those in nonhead and neck regions. Through the largest single-institution series of head a...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in early head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). METHODS The PubMed database was searched for studies published before October 31, 2012. Pooled values for the sentinel lymph node identification rate, sensitivity, false-negative rate, negative predictive value, and accuracy were calcul...

Objective: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a validated staging technique for breast carcinoma. Some women are exposed to have a second SLNB due to breast cancer recurrence or a second neoplasia (breast or other). Due to modified anatomy, it has been claimed that previous axillary surgery represents a contra-indication to SLNB. Our objective was to analyse the literature to assess if a seco...

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is an established method for the assessment of tumor aggressiveness in patients with primary cutaneous melanoma (PCM). To improve the criteria for the selection of SLNB candidates, the aim of our study was to determine clinico-pathohistological parameters that can serve as predictors of metastatic progression. We retrospectively evaluated all available clinico-...

Background. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for thick cutaneous melanoma is supported by national guidelines. We report on factors associated with the use and underuse of SLNB for thick primary cutaneous melanoma. Methods. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was queried for patients who underwent surgery for thick primary cutaneous melanoma from 2004 to 2008. We used mult...

Prognostic markers for nodal metastasis in thin melanoma patients are debated. We present a single institution study looking at factors predictive of nodal disease in thin melanoma patients. Retrospective review from 1997 to 2012 identified 252 patients with thin melanoma (≤1 mm) who underwent a sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). Node-positive patients included positive SLNB patients and negati...

PURPOSE The aim of this article was to describe positive sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) findings in patients with periocular invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). METHODS This was a retrospective chart review of 5 patients with invasive SCC of the periocular region who underwent SLNB and were found to have regional metastasis. RESULTS All patients had large (2.0-4.3 cm) primary tumors ...

IMPORTANCE Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) provides prognostic information for melanoma; however, a survival benefit has not been demonstrated. OBJECTIVE To assess the association of SLNB with survival for melanoma arising in head and neck subsites (HNM). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Propensity score-matched retrospective cohort study using the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Resul...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Locoregional lymph node ultrasound is not typically included in guidelines as part of the staging process prior to sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). The objective of the present study was to make a clinical and economic analysis of lymph node ultrasound prior to SLNB. MATERIALS AND METHODS We performed a retrospective study of 384 patients with clinical stage I-II p...

BACKGROUND The practice of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in China varies to that in western developed countries. With the unavailability of radioactive tracer technique for sentinel lymph nodes biopsy (SLNB), using blue dye alone has been the only option in China. Also, the diagnosis of breast malignant tumor in most Chinese centres heavily relies on intraoperative instant frozen histol...