title: Sentinel node biopsy in patients with cutaneous melanoma of the head and neck.
abstract: Biopsy of head and neck sentinel nodes (SNs) can be technically problematic due to the unpredictable and variable drainage patterns of this anatomic region. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility of SN biopsy for cutaneous melanoma of the head and neck. We performed SN biopsy in 17 patients affected by stage I cutaneous melanoma of the head and neck on the basis of lymphoscintigraphy, blue dye and gamma probe. A total of 24 procedures were performed. Drainage to more than one lymphatic basin was observed in five patients (two basins in three cases and three basins in two cases) and in all cases SN biopsy was performed in all basins. The biopsy distribution by site was: six cervical nodes, five parotid nodes, four supraclavicular and submandibular nodes, three auricular and axillary nodes. The SN identification rate was 87.5% (21/24); metastases were discovered in four cases, with a positivity rate of 23.6%. At the time of writing, 1 patient is alive with local disease, 3 patients are dead and 13 are alive and free of disease with a follow-up ranging from 1 to 40 months (median, 21 months) following SN biopsy. In our opinion preoperative lymphoscintigraphy and the intraoperative use of a gamma probe are useful for the identification of lymphatic drainage of cutaneous melanoma of the head and neck.
authors.affiliation: UO Medicina Nucleare, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maffioli
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Belli
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gallino
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ditto
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Castellani
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Testoni
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sturm
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bombardieri
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cascinelli
mesh_terms: D004396:Coloring Agents; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005720:Gamma Rays; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008545:Melanoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012394:Rosaniline Dyes; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy / Q000379:methods*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D013668:Technetium Tc 99m Aggregated Albumin
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D012394:Rosaniline Dyes; D013668:Technetium Tc 99m Aggregated Albumin; C083602:technetium Tc 99m nanocolloid; C008769:sulfan blue