title: [Biopsy of the sentinel lymph node in the staging of patients with malignant melanoma].
abstract: Sentinel node biopsy, in the treatment of stage I and II skin melanomas (according to the American Joint Cancer Committee classification), has been advocated by several authors as the best compromise between radical intent and minimal surgical invasiveness. The authors present their personal experience based on 64 sentinel node biopsies in patients with stage I and II skin melanoma of the trunk and limbs (30 males and 34 females; age range: 29-77 years). Sentinel node detection was radio-guided and was conducted in the armpit in 43 cases and in the groin in the remaining 21. Eleven patients who presented metastatic nodes underwent a regional lymphadenectomy (8 axillary and 3 groin dissections) with low morbidity and no perioperative mortality.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Chirurgiche e Medico Legali, Sez. Chirurgia Generale e Oncologica, Università degli Studi di Perugia.
authors.forename: Piero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Covarelli
authors.forename: Gian Marco
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Tomassini
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Messina
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sidoni
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cristofani
authors.forename: Adriano
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bartoli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000379:methods*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy / Q000379:methods*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*