Adjuvant Therapy for Stage III Melanoma Without Immediate Completion Lymph Node Dissection.

Introduction: For patients with stage III melanoma with occult lymph node metastasis, the use of adjuvant therapy is increasing, and completion lymph node dissection (CLND) is decreasing. We sought to evaluate the use of modern adjuvant therapy and outcomes for patients with stage III melanoma who did not undergo CLND.

Methods: Patients with a positive SLNB from 2015 to 2020 who did not undergo CLND were evaluated retrospectively.

Utility of Quantitative SPECT/CT Lymphoscintigraphy in Guiding Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Head and Neck Melanoma.

Purpose: To investigate the use of advanced SPECT/CT quantification in guiding surgical selection of positive sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in head and neck melanoma.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data from patients with cutaneous head and neck melanoma who underwent lymphoscintigraphy with SPECT/CT prior to SLN biopsy (SLNB). Quantification of radiotracer uptake from SPECT/CT data was performed using in-house segmentation software.

Frequency and implications of occipital and posterior auricular sentinel lymph nodes in scalp melanoma.

Background: Patients with scalp melanoma have poor oncologic outcomes compared with those with other cutaneous sites. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy provides prognostic information but is challenging in the head and neck. We explore the anatomic distribution of scalp melanoma and describe the most common sites of SLN drainage and of SLN metastatic disease.

A nomogram to predict node positivity in patients with thin melanomas helps inform shared patient decision making.

Objective: To develop a nomogram to estimate the probability of positive sentinel lymph node (+SLN) for patients with thin melanoma and to characterize its potential impact on sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) rates.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with thin (0.5-1.

Increasing omission of radiation therapy and sentinel node biopsy in elderly patients with early stage, hormone-positive breast cancer.

Prospective evidence demonstrates that there is limited benefit of axillary staging with sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) or radiation therapy (RT) in patients over age 70 with clinical stage I, hormone-positive breast cancer. The clinical impact of this literature is unknown. Our hypothesis is that omission of SLNB and RT has increased over time in these patients, and patient and tumor characteristics can predict when omission strategies are used.

Postbiopsy Pigmentation is Prognostic in Head and Neck Melanoma.

Purpose: To assess postbiopsy pigmentation (PBP) as a prognostic feature in patients with cutaneous head and neck (H&N) melanoma.

Methods: Retrospective review of patients undergoing sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for H&N melanoma (1998-2018). PBP was defined as visible remaining pigment at the scar or biopsy site that was documented on physical exam by both a medical oncologist and a surgeon at initial consultation.

SPECT/CT Adds Distinct Lymph Node Basins and Influences Radiologic Findings and Surgical Approach for Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Head and Neck Melanoma.

Background: Planar lymphoscintigraphy (PL) has a lower detection rate of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in head and neck melanoma compared with other sites. We assessed situations when single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) identified nodes not seen by PL. We also evaluated the impact of SPECT/CT on surgical approach and oncologic outcomes.

Re-excision rates after breast conserving surgery following the 2014 SSO-ASTRO guidelines.

Background: In 2014, SSO-ASTRO published guidelines which recommended "no ink on tumor" as adequate margins for patients undergoing breast conservation for invasive breast cancer. In 2016, new SSO-ASTRO-ASCO guidelines recommended 2 mm margins for DCIS. We evaluated whether these guidelines affected re-excision rates at our institution.

Patterns of Fractionation and Boost Usage in Adjuvant External Beam Radiotherapy for Ductal Carcinoma in Situ in the United States.

Background: While the roles of hypofractionated (HFxn) radiotherapy and lumpectomy boost in the adjuvant management of invasive breast cancer are supported by the results of clinical trials, randomized data supporting their use for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) are forthcoming. We sought to evaluate current national trends and identify factors associated with HFxn and boost usage using the National Cancer Database.

Patients And Methods: We queried the National Cancer Database for women diagnosed with DCIS from 2004 to 2014 undergoing external beam radiotherapy after breast conservation surgery.

Implications of Sentinel Lymph Node Drainage to Multiple Basins in Head and Neck Melanoma.

Background: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for head and neck melanoma is challenging due to unpredictable drainage. We sought to determine the frequency of drainage to multiple lymphatic basins and asked if this was associated with prognosis in a large, single-center cohort.

Methods: We queried patients diagnosed with head and neck melanomas who had a SLNB performed from January 1998 to April 2016.

Breast Cancer Following Radiation for Hodgkin Lymphoma: Clinical Scenarios and Risk-Reducing Strategies.

Since most patients with Hodgkin lymphoma survive their disease, long-term issues such as development of second primary malignancies arise, especially in patients treated with multimodal therapy including radiation therapy plus chemotherapy. The risk of breast cancer is significantly elevated in women exposed to high-dose ionizing radiation to the chest before age 40. The case of a 48-year-old patient with a lump in her right breast is presented as a clinical scenario in this article.

SPECT/CT Improves Detection of Metastatic Sentinel Lymph Nodes in Patients with Head and Neck Melanoma.

Background: A positive sentinel lymph node (SLN) is the most important prognostic factor for predicting survival in cutaneous melanoma. This study aimed to evaluate how the addition of single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and computed tomography (CT) to planar lymphoscintigraphy (PL) alters SLN identification, yield, and localization of metastatic nodes in head and neck melanoma.

Methods: This retrospective review examined patients undergoing SLN biopsy for cutaneous melanoma of the head and neck between July 2003 and December 2015.

Association of sentinel lymph node diameter with melanoma metastasis.

Background: Lymph nodes are an important part of the immune system and the size of the lymph node reflects local immunologic activity. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between sentinel lymph node (SLN) size and the presence of nodal metastasis in patients with melanoma.

Methods: Retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database of patients undergoing SLN biopsy for cutaneous melanoma between February 1995 and January 2013.

Analysis of melanoma recurrence following a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy.

Little attention has been paid to the characteristics and outcomes of patients who experience distant, local or regional recurrence of melanoma following a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy. This article aims to review the published literature on the topic and presents some general summaries regarding this patient population. Patients who experience a disease recurrence following a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy have a worse overall survival compared with patients with a positive sentinel lymph node biopsy.

Breast Cancer Risk Reduction, Version 2.2015.

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in women in the United States and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death. To assist women who are at increased risk of developing breast cancer and their physicians in the application of individualized strategies to reduce breast cancer risk, NCCN has developed these guidelines for breast cancer risk reduction.

Metabotropic glutamate receptor-1 contributes to progression in triple negative breast cancer.

TNBC is an aggressive breast cancer subtype that does not express hormone receptors (estrogen and progesterone receptors, ER and PR) or amplified human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2), and there currently exist no targeted therapies effective against it. Consequently, finding new molecular targets in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is critical to improving patient outcomes. Previously, we have detected the expression of metabotropic glutamate receptor-1 (gene: GRM1; protein: mGluR1) in TNBC and observed that targeting glutamatergic signaling inhibits TNBC growth both in vitro and in vivo.

Long-term follow-up and survival of patients following a recurrence of melanoma after a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy result.

Objective: To analyze the predictors and patterns of recurrence of melanoma in patients with a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy result.

Design: Retrospective chart review of a prospectively created database of patients with cutaneous melanoma. SETTING Tertiary university hospital.

A neoadjuvant biochemotherapy approach to stage III melanoma: analysis of surgical outcomes.

Aims: Completion lymph node dissection (CLND) and adjuvant therapy are recommended for node-positive melanoma patients. We sought to analyze our institution's experience with neoadjuvant biochemotherapy in stage III patients.

Methods: Clinical information was extracted from a retrospective database on stage III melanoma patients.

The RET G691S polymorphism is a germline variant in desmoplastic malignant melanoma.

The RET protooncogene was originally identified in 1985. It encodes for a receptor tyrosine kinase. The RET receptor is activated by its ligand glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor.