Selection of patients with malignant melanoma for pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) using CT-PET.

Objectives: In melanoma patients with positive pelvic nodes, pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) to achieve fully resected disease status facilitates adjuvant-dose systemic therapy and avoids higher treatment doses with greater toxicity. This study aimed to test the accuracy of prediction of nodal involvement of the 2010 joint BAPRAS/BAD guidance compared with Positron Emission Tomography (CT-PET).

Methods: A retrospective review was undertaken of 26 melanoma patients undergoing PLND by a single surgeon between July 2012 and July 2020.