Lymph-Node Ratio in Patients with Cutaneous Melanoma: A Multi-Institution Prognostic Study

Background Lymph node ratio (LNR)—the number of metastatic lymph nodes (LNs) over the number of excised LNs after lymphadenectomy—is a prognostic factor for many solid tumors, but controversies still exist for skin melanoma. We investigated the prognostic relevance of LNR in melanoma patients and formulated a proposal for considering the LNR in the current American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) N staging system.