Tanning beds: A call to action for further educational and legislative efforts.

Backgorund And Objectives: Melanoma is steadily increasing over the past decade. Recent studies confirmed a link between tanning bed use and melanoma. We sought to determine the prevalence and frequency of tanning bed among young patients with melanoma.

The risk of lymph node involvement in malignant cutaneous adnexal tumors.

Malignant cutaneous adnexal tumors (MCATs) are rare neoplasms that do not have a well-studied treatment algorithm. They are generally treated by excision alone. Given its successful application in other cutaneous malignancies, sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has been advocated by some for use in MCATs.

1 or 2 cm margins of excision for T2 melanomas: do they impact recurrence or survival?

Background: NCCN guidelines recommend 1 or 2 cm margins for melanomas 1-2 mm (T2 melanomas) in depth; however, no head-to-head comparison has been performed. We hypothesized 1- or 2-cm margins would have similar local recurrence (LR) and overall survival (OS).

Methods: An institutional database was queried for patients with 1.

Analysis of regional recurrence after negative sentinel lymph node biopsy for head and neck melanoma.

Background: The head and neck have a rich lymphatic drainage and complex anatomy, which complicate sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy for melanoma. The incidence of regional recurrence after a negative SLN biopsy has been shown to be higher than that at other sites. Compounding factors in this scenario were analyzed to determine their impact on both SLN status and survival.

Inguinopelvic lymphadenectomy following positive inguinal sentinel lymph node biopsy in melanoma: true frequency of synchronous pelvic metastases.

Background: True frequency of synchronous pelvic metastases with positive inguinal sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is unknown. Role of pelvic dissection in the SLN era is unclear.

Methods: From 1994 to 2004, 1 surgeon routinely performed nonselective, complete inguinopelvic lymphadenectomy after positive inguinal SLN biopsy.

Routine biopsy of Cloquet's node is of limited value in sentinel node positive melanoma patients.

Background And Objectives: Biopsy of Cloquet's node (CN) during groin dissection has been used to indicate need for pelvic dissection. With earlier detection of microscopic regional disease in the era of sentinel node biopsy (SNB), frequency of positive CN may be so low that routine biopsy is unwarranted.

Methods: Patients with positive groin SNB from 2000 to 2008 were identified from two centers.

Regional recurrence after negative sentinel lymph node biopsy for melanoma.

Objective: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has shown great utility in the management of melanoma. An analysis of regional recurrence in previously mapped negative SLN basins as the first site of relapse is performed.

Methods: A retrospective query of a prospective melanoma database from 1994 to 2006 identified 1287 patients who underwent successful SLN biopsy.

Prediction of nonsentinel lymph node involvement in patients with a positive sentinel lymph node in malignant melanoma.

Completion lymph node dissection (CLND) is routinely performed after metastatic melanoma is detected at sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy. Nonsentinel lymph node (NSLN) involvement is found in less than one-third of the cases. Possible predictors of NSLN involvement are examined.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in the management of cutaneous head and neck melanoma.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy has revolutionized the surgical management of primary malignant melanoma. Most series on sentinel lymph node mapping have concentrated on extremity and truncal melanomas. The head and neck region has a rich and unpredictable lymphatic system.

The amount of metastatic melanoma in a sentinel lymph node: does it have prognostic significance?

Background: The amount of metastatic disease in the sentinel lymph node (SLN) is examined as a prognostic factor in malignant melanoma.

Methods: SLN mapping was performed on 592 patients with stage I and II malignant melanoma from March 1, 1994, through December 31, 1999. One hundred four patients were found to have 134 sentinel SLNs containing metastatic melanoma.

Sentinel lymph node mapping for thick (>or=4-mm) melanoma: should we be doing it?

Background: Thick (>or=4-mm) primary melanomas are believed to be associated with a high incidence of occult distant metastases. The use of sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping and biopsy in the treatment lesions has been questioned.

Methods: A retrospective review of a computerized database identified 114 patients who underwent successful SLN mapping and biopsy from January 1, 1994, to December 31, 1999.

The definition of the sentinel lymph node in melanoma based on radioactive counts.

Background: There is no consensus on the definition of a hot, nonblue sentinel lymph node (SLN), despite the widespread use of radiocolloid in SLN mapping.

Methods: A retrospective review of 592 patients with malignant melanoma who underwent SLN mapping was performed. Ex vivo SLN counts and nodal bed counts were obtained by using a gamma probe.