BMJ  2004;329:170 (17 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7458.170

Letter

Sentinel lymph node biopsy

Not yet standard of care for melanoma

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Kell and Kerin wrote about sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer and melanoma.¹ This is a staging procedure with a well established role in breast cancer, reducing the need for dissection of the axillary node. The indications and advantages for sentinel lymph node biopsy in melanoma are not confirmed, and it is certainly not the established treatment implied in the editorial.²

Sentinel node status in melanoma is indeed the best staging and prognostic indicator: patients with negative results have a better prognosis then those with positive results. However, there is no evidence from randomised clinical trials that completion lymphadenectomy (sometimes known as selective lymphadenectomy) in patients with positive sentinel node biopsies offers any survival advantage. Neither is there any adjuvant therapy that can influence the natural history and benefit patients who are sentinel node positive.³ Concern has recently been raised about the possible increased incidence of local . . . [Full text of this article]

sarcoma@mac.com

Royal Marsden Hospital Melanoma and Sarcoma Unit, London SW3 6JJ

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Articles

Completion lymphadenectomy may not increase in-transit disease in malignant melanoma

Robin Russell-Jones, Ciaran Healy, Ann-Marie Powell, Katharine Acland, Michael O'Doherty, and Eduardo Calonje
BMJ 2004 329: 1288-1289. [Extract] [Full Text]

Sentinel lymph node biopsy

Malcolm R Kell and Michael J Kerin
BMJ 2004 328: 1330-1331. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Cummins, D. L., Cummins, J. M., Pantle, H., Silverman, M. A., Leonard, A. L., Chanmugam, A. (2006). Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma. Mayo Clin Proc. 81: 500-507 [Abstract] [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Sentinel lymph-node biopsy in malignant melanoma

Robin Russell-Jones, et al.
bmj.com, 24 Aug 2004 [Full text]

Informed Consent and Sentinel Node Biopsy in Melanoma

Juan Manuel Marquez
bmj.com, 15 Jan 2007 [Full text]

Online poll

Find out more >>