Validity of ultrasound-guided aspiration needle biopsy in the diagnosis of micrometastases in sentinel lymph nodes in patients with cutaneous melanoma.

Background/aim: Cutaneous melanoma is one of the most aggressive solid cancers, that develops local, regional and distant metastases. The presence of metastases in lymph nodes is in correlation with Breslow tumor thickness. According to various researches, in melanoma with more than 4 mm Breslow thickness, lymph node micrometastases can be found in 60-70% of cases.