Background:

The benefits of complete lymph node dissection (CLND) in melanoma patients with a positive sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) have been recently questioned. Sentinel node (SN) tumor burden > 1 mm has been proposed as the most reliable parameter associated with positive CLND and poorer disease-free survival.

Material and methods:

Between June 1997 and June 2017, data from 119 melanoma patients with positive SLNB were analyzed. Patients were classified by SN burden in two groups: ≤ 1 mm and > 1 mm.

Results:

CLND was positive in 6 (10%) patients with SN tumor burden ≤ 1 mm and in 23 (37.7%) patients with > 1 mm (p < 0.001). In univariable analysis, SN tumor burden was the only predictive factor of positive CLND (OR 5.24 [1.94-14.13]). In multivariable analysis, SN tumor burden was the only independent factor of melanoma-specific survival (MSS).

Conclusion:

Although CLND should still be considered individually in patients with positive SLNB, SN tumor burden >1 mm might be a good predictive factor of additional positive non-sentinel nodes and a strong independent prognostic factor in melanoma-specific survival.

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