[Study of the sentinel lymph node. Diagnosis and treatment of cutaneous malignant melanoma stages I and II].
Survival at 5 years of patients with localized primary malignant melanoma is about 80%, compared with a 35% survival in case of lymph nodes involvement. Sentinel lymph node(s) from 45 subjects with diagnosis of malignant melanoma stage I or II was/were studied with hematoxylin-eosin (HE), immunohistochemistry (IHC) and molecular biology (MB) techniques. The population was divided into three groups: HE-/IHC+/MB+, where 67% patients died; HE-/IHC-/MB+, where 57% died; and HE-/IHC-/MB-, where 100% of the patients are alive, with no lymphadenectomy and a median follow-up of 60 months. Those subjects who showed negativity with all the three methods had a null recurrence rate. Data herein obtained suggest a new molecular oncological staging, which would allow the selection of patients with submicroscopic metastases for a complete treatment. Moreover, several patients with no lymph node metastases should not undergo lymphadenectomies, and overtreatment could therefore be avoided.
Denninghoff
Valeria
V
Servicio de Patología, Centro de Educación Medica e Investigaciones Clínicas Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martín, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires.
Falco
Jorge
J
Curutchet
H Pablo
HP
Elsner
Boris
B
D001118:Argentina / Q000453:epidemiology; D004801:Eosine Yellowish-(YS); D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006416:Hematoxylin; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008545:Melanoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary* / Q000628:therapy; D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy
D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase; D004801:Eosine Yellowish-(YS); D006416:Hematoxylin