Objectives To investigate the patterns of melanoma recurrence in the local population, including factors that may influence in this event and timing of relapse, and to determine the mode of detection of them. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study of patients with melanoma who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy at the Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra (Spain) from 2002 to 2012. The following data were collected of each patient: age, gender, date of diagnosis, location of melanoma, histological subtype, Breslow thickness, ulceration, mitosis, sentinel node status, AJCC 8th edition stage, site of first diagnosed metastasis, mode of relapse, date of first relapse and time of death. Results Of 308 patients, 30% people suffered metastasis. The mean follow‐up time was 68.63 months. 51.1% of relapses were locoregional and 48.9% haemato‐visceral. Sentinel node status was the only variable associated with higher risk of haemato‐visceral metastasis (p < 0.001). The mean time between diagnosis of melanoma and recurrence was 2.7 years. Most recurrences were detected by the patient himself or had any type of symptoms and were consequently selected for a complementary test. Conclusion It is important to follow‐up all patients with diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma, essentially during the first 5 years after diagnosis.

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