Melanoma’s sentinel node biopsy: comparison between two clinical hospitals over 5 years

Abstract

Introduction. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) is defined as the first lymph node localized on the direct lymphatic drainage pathway from a primary tumor. The sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is largely used in breast cancer and melanoma but it may also be useful in other epithelial skin cancers as well as in tumors located in the upper or lower gastrointestinal tract, lungs, thyroid, cervix and vulva. SLNB in melanoma is essential for an accurate staging, to estimate the risk of extension to other lymph nodes or organs and to evaluate the prognosis. Melanoma, even if it is not as common as the basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma among the skin tumors, presents an increasing incidence and a higher mortality.