Melanoma sentinel lymph node biopsy

Melanoma Thickness Margin of Excision Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy... 

Sentinel" Lymph Node Biopsies for Metastatic Melanoma 196... 

SENTINEL LYMPH NODE BIOPSIES FOR METASTATIC MELANOMA ... 

Medalie N, Ackerman AB. Sentinel lymph node biopsy has no benefit for patients with primary cutaneous melanoma an assertion based on comprehensive, critical analysis. 2nd ed. New York Ardor Scribendi Press 2004 1-95. 

Gutzmer, R., Kaspari, M., Broderson, (.P. et al. (2002) Specificity of tyrosinase and HMB45 PCR in the detection of melanoma metastases in sentinel lymph node biopsies. Histopathology, 41, 510-518. 

Studies in which isosulfan was used for sentinel lymph node biopsies in breast and melanoma patients showed allergic reactions in 1.42 % of patients. With regard to the severe allergic reactions (grade III), the figures were 0.44 % and 0.06 % for isosulfan blue and patent blue V, respectively. 

For patients with melanomas that are at risk of spreading to the lymph nodes, a sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is performed. The SLN, the first lymph node to receive lymph draining from the tumor, is identified by injecting a radioactive material, technetium-99m-labeled radiocolloids, and vital... 

Sentinel node biopsy, which has been extensively validated in breast cancer and melanoma, is being used increasingly in the evaluation of penile cancer. The concept of the sentinel node, the first lymph node to contain metastatic cancer within a tumor s lymphatic basin, was introduced by Cabanas in 1977 (Cabanas 1977). Anatomically, the sentinel lymph node was discovered to be part of the lymphatic system around the superficial inferior epigastric vein, and theoretically, skip metastases beyond this node were suppose to be a very rare event. Cabanas recommended bilateral sentinel node biopsy followed by inguino-femoral dissection only when biopsy of the sentinel node was positive. When the sentinel node is negative for metastatic disease, no further surgical treatment was recommended. The reliability of Cabana s approach was limited by its relatively poor localization technique, and therefore failed to gain widespread acceptance. 

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