Benefits of initial CT staging before sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with head and neck cutaneous melanoma.

Background: The value of CT at the time of diagnosis for patients with cutaneous head and neck melanoma clinically asymptomatic for metastatic disease is unclear.

Methods: A retrospective medical chart review was performed on 198 consecutive patients identified with primary T1b-T4b head and neck melanoma clinically asymptomatic for metastatic disease referred for sentinel lymph node biopsy procedures between 2004 and 2014.

Results: Initial CTs identified clinically occult melanoma metastases in 8.