Cervical Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for Melanomas of the Head and Neck and Upper Thorax

Abstract
THE WORLDWIDE incidence of cutaneous melanoma continues to rise about 6% per year.1 Melanoma of the skin is now the sixth most common cancer in the United States.2 Melanoma rates are rising faster than any cancer in men and are second only to lung cancer in women.1 An estimated 44,200 new cases of invasive melanoma accounting for 7300 deaths were seen in the United States in 1999.2 By virtue of its metastatic potential, melanoma accounts for the vast majority of deaths from cutaneous malignancies.