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Alistair J. Cochran, MD

Arch Dermatol. 2009;145(10):1176-1177.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

The modern techniques of lymphatic mapping and sentinel node (SN) biopsy (LM/SNB) were introduced for the management of cutaneous melanoma in 1992¹ and quickly found wide acceptance. They have also been applied to the management of squamous carcinoma of various sites, Merkel cell carcinoma, breast cancer, cancer of the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract, and gynecological malignant neoplasms.² The presence or absence of metastatic melanoma in the SN provides optimal staging and is the most accurate available indicator of prognosis.³ There is less unanimity in regard to the therapeutic role of LM/SNB. Many clinicians (including me) believe that LM/SNB, with immediate completion lymph node dissection if the SN contains tumor, is a more effective way to treat patients with melanoma and early metastases to the lymph nodes than observation with delay of lymph node dissection until the tumor-containing nodes become clinically detectable. During such observation, the . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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