The Risk of Regional Lymph Node Metastases in Patients with Melanoma Less Than 1.0 Mm Thick: Recommendations for Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy

Abstract
Lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy can upstage patients with intermediate thickness (1.0 to 4.0 mm) melanoma. Currently, there are no strict guidelines for sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with melanoma or =5 years of followup from the date of diagnosis was compared with patients with primary melanoma of similar thickness and similar followup intervals without recurrent disease. A total of 114 patients with primary cutaneous melanoma or =0.8 mm thick provided that the technique would detect metastatic disease years before it becomes clinically evident.