title: Sentinel lymph node excision and PET-CT in the initial stage of malignant melanoma: a retrospective analysis of 61 patients with malignant melanoma in American Joint Committee on Cancer stages I and II.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sentinel lymph node excision (SLNE) for the detection of regional nodal metastases and staging of malignant melanoma has resulted in some controversies in international discussions. Positron emission tomography with computerized tomography (PET-CT), a noninvasive imaging procedure for the detection of regional nodal metastases, has increasingly become of interest. Our study is a direct comparison of SLNE and PET-CT in patients with early-stage malignant melanoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively analyzed data from 61 patients with primary malignant melanoma with a Breslow index greater than 1.0 mm.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Metastatic SLNs were found in 14 patients (23%); 17 metastatic lymph nodes were detected overall, only one of which was identified preoperatively using PET-CT. Thus, PET-CT showed a sensitivity of 5.9% and a negative predictive value of 78%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SLNE is much more sensitive than PET-CT in discovering small lymph node metastases. We consider PET-CT unsuitable for the evaluation of early regional lymphatic tumor dissemination in this patient population and recommend that it be limited to malignant melanomas of American Joint Committee on Cancer stages III and IV. We therefore recommend the routine use of SLNE for tumor staging and stratification for adjuvant therapy of patients with stage I and II malignant melanoma.
authors.affiliation: Dermatology, Venereology, and Allergology, University School of Medicine Essen-Duisburg, Hufelandstr. 55, 45122 Essen, Germany. joachim.klode@uk-essen.de
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Klode
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dissemond
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grabbe
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hillen
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Poeppel
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boeing
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy / Q000379:methods*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18