The Clinical Value of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy In Melanoma Staging, Regional Disease Control, and Survival

The regional lymph nodes are commonly the first site of melanoma metastasis. Even within a nodal basin, there may be regional spread to surrounding lymph nodes before progression to distant sites. Therefore, surgical excision of regional lymph nodes has been a focus of melanoma treatment for decades. There are three potential goals of surgery, any one of which may justify the procedure for an individual patient when the benefits of treatment are judged to outweigh the risks and morbidity: