Background Despite the lack of an established survival benefit of sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy, this technique has been increasingly applied in the staging of thin (≤1 mm) melanoma patients, without clear evidence to support this recommendation. We performed a meta-analysis to estimate the risk, potential predictors, and outcome of SLN positivity in this group of patients. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were searched for rates of SLN positivity in patients with thin melanoma. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed using the MINORS criteria. Heterogeneity was assessed using Cochran’s Q-statistic, and publication bias was examined through funnel plot and Begg and Mazumdar’s method. Overall SLN positivity in thin melanoma patients was estimated using DerSimonial-Laird random effect method. Results 34 studies comprising 3,651 patients met inclusion criteria. The pooled SLN positivity rate was 5.6%. Significant heterogeneity among studies was detected (p=0.005). There was no statistical evidence of publication bias (p=0.21). 18 studies reported select clinical and histopathologic data limited to SLN positive patients (n=113). Among the tumors from these patients, 6.1% were ulcerated, 31.5% showed regression, and 47.5% were Clark’s level IV/V. Only 4 melanoma-related deaths were reported. Conclusion Relatively few patients with thin melanoma have a positive SLN. There are no clinical or histopathologic criteria which can reliably identify thin melanoma patients who might benefit from this intervention. Given the increasing diagnosis of thin melanoma, in addition to the cost and potential morbidity of this procedure, alternative strategies to identify patients at risk for nodal disease are needed.

BACKGROUND. In patients with T1b‐T3b cutaneous melanoma the utility of radiologic imaging at the time of diagnosis is unclear. Whether initial imaging led to a change in stage or treatment plan was investigated. METHODS. The melanoma database was searched for patients with T1b‐T3b primary lesions, clinically N0, and asymptomatic for metastatic disease. Radiologic studies conducted before wide local excision ± sentinel lymph node biopsy as well as all further imaging and investigations were analyzed. Outcome measures included upstaging, change in initial surgical management, true‐positive, false‐positive, true‐negative, and false‐negative rates of each imaging modality. RESULTS. In all, 344 preoperative imaging studies (chest x‐ray [CXR], computed tomography [CT], positron emission tomography [PET]/CT) were performed on 158 patients, resulting in 49 findings suspicious for metastatic melanoma and 134 findings suggestive of nonmelanoma pathology. Only 1 of 344 (0.3%) studies, a PET/CT, correlated with confirmed metastatic melanoma. The false‐positive rates were CXR 5 of 7 (71.4%), chest CT 21 of 24 (87.5%), abdomen/pelvis CT 10 of 11 (90.9%), head CT 2 of 2 (100.0%), PET/CT 3 of 5 (60.0%). No patient was upstaged or had a change in initial surgical management based on preoperative imaging. The cost of all initial imaging and imaging to follow‐up abnormal findings was estimated as $555,308 for the 158 patients studied. CONCLUSIONS. Imaging at the time of initial diagnosis of T1b‐T3b, clinically N0, M0 melanoma was of low yield with a high false‐positive rate, and did not lead to upstaging or change in initial surgical management. These findings suggest that imaging of asymptomatic patients at the time of diagnosis may not be warranted. Cancer 2007. © 2007 American Cancer Society.

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BACKGROUND Nodular melanoma (NM) may be biologically aggressive compared with the more common superficial spreading melanoma (SSM), with recent data suggesting underlying genetic differences between these 2 subtypes. To better define the clinical behavior of NMs, the authors compared their clinical and histopathologic features to those of SSMs at their institution, a tertiary referral center, over 3 decades. METHODS A total of 1684 patients diagnosed with 1734 melanomas were prospectively enrolled. Of these, 1143 patients (69% SSM, 11% NM, 20% other) were diagnosed between 1972 and 1982; 541 patients (54% SSM, 23% NM, 23% other) were diagnosed between 2002 and the present. Differences between the features of NM and SSM within each time period as well as changes over time were analyzed. RESULTS The authors found that SSMs are now diagnosed as thinner lesions (P < .0001) with a low incidence of histologic ulceration (P < .0001), whereas there was no significant change in the median tumor thickness or ulceration status of NMs over time (P = .10, P = .30, respectively). The median age at diagnosis of NM, however, did significantly increase over time (51 years to 63 years, P < .01). The median duration of NMs was reported to be only 5 months compared with 9 months in SSM patients. CONCLUSIONS The authors’ data suggest that improvements have been made in the early detection of SSM but not NM. Modifications of current screening practices, including increased surveillance of high-risk patients with an emphasis on the “E” for “evolution” criterion of the ABCDE acronym used for early detection of melanoma, are thus warranted.