title: Review and evaluation of sentinel node procedures in 250 melanoma patients with a median follow-up of 6 years.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of sentinel node biopsy in cutaneous melanoma at our institute.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 250 patients with cutaneous melanoma were studied prospectively. Preoperative lymphoscintigraphy was performed after injection of (99m)Tc-nanocolloid intradermally around the primary tumor or biopsy site (.32 mL, 65.5 MBq [1.8 mCi]). The sentinel node was surgically identified with the aid of patent blue dye and a gamma ray detection probe. The median follow-up was 72 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lymphoscintigraphic visualization was 100%, and surgical identification was 99.6%. In 60 patients (24%), 1 or more sentinel nodes were tumor positive at initial pathology evaluation. Late complications after sentinel node biopsy of the remaining 190 patients were seen in 35 patients (18%). The false-negative rate was 9%. In-transit metastases were seen in 7% of sentinel node-negative and 23% of sentinel node-positive patients. The estimated 5-year overall survival rates were 89% and 64%, respectively (P <.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study confirms that the status of the sentinel node is a strong independent prognostic factor. The false-negative rate and the incidence of in-transit metastases in sentinel node-positive patients are high and have to be weighed against the possible survival benefit of early removal of nodal metastases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The Netherlands Cancer Institute/Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. s.estourgie@nki.nl
authors.forename: Susanne H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Estourgie
authors.forename: Omgo E
authors.initials: OE
authors.lastname: Nieweg
authors.forename: Renato A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Valdés Olmos
authors.forename: Cornelis A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Hoefnagel
authors.forename: Bin B R
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Kroon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013668:Technetium Tc 99m Aggregated Albumin
chemical_list: D013668:Technetium Tc 99m Aggregated Albumin; C083602:technetium Tc 99m nanocolloid