title: Discussing sentinel lymph node biopsy with your melanoma patients.
abstract: Sentinel lymph node biopsy, indicated for stage 1B/2 melanoma may be an underutilized diagnostic modality. Experts in the field agree that sentinel lymph node biopsy should be offered to patients with T1 melanomas with primary tumor ulceration, a mitotic rate greater than or equal to 1/mm2, and/or Clark level IV/V invasion especially if tumor thickness exceeds 0.75 mm. It is the responsibility of practitioners to characterize patients as eligible or non-eligible for the sentinel node procedure. Furthermore, it is important to obtain a fully informed consent and explain to patients the statistics of the progonostic information garnered by the test.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, University of South Florida, College of Medicine,Tampa, FL 33612, USA.
authors.forename: Brooke T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Baldwin
authors.forename: Basil S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Cherpelis
authors.forename: Neil Alan
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Fenske
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology*; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*