Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Jun 22;15(13):3291.
doi: 10.3390/cancers15133291.

Role of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for Skin Cancer Based on Clinical Studies

Shoichiro Ishizuki  1 , Yoshiyuki Nakamura  1
Affiliations
Review

Role of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for Skin Cancer Based on Clinical Studies

Shoichiro Ishizuki et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

The sentinel lymph node is the first lymph node from the primary tumor. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a surgical procedure that can detect occult nodal metastasis with relatively low morbidity. It may also have a therapeutic effect via regional disease control. The Multicenter Selective Lymphadenectomy-I (MSLT-I) trial revealed a prognostic benefit from SLNB in melanoma patients. However, it remains unclear whether there is a prognostic benefit from SLNB in patients with nonmelanoma skin cancer owing to a lack of randomized prospective studies. Nevertheless, SLNB provides important information about nodal status, which is one of the strongest factors to predict prognosis and may guide additional nodal treatment. Currently, SLNB is widely used in the management of not only patients with melanoma but also those with nonmelanoma skin cancer. However, the utilization and outcomes of SLNB differ among skin cancers. In addition, SLNB is not recommended for routine use in all patients with skin cancer. In this review, we provide a summary of the role of SLNB and of the indications for SLNB in each skin cancer based on previously published articles.

Keywords: lymph node dissection; skin cancer; skin graft; surgical margin.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Quartuccio N., Garau L.M., Arnone A., Pappalardo M., Rubello D., Arnone G., Manca G. Comparison of (99m)Tc-Labeled Colloid SPECT/CT and Planar Lymphoscintigraphy in Sentinel Lymph Node Detection in Patients with Melanoma: A Meta-Analysis. J. Clin. Med. 2020;9:1680. doi: 10.3390/jcm9061680. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Guo J., Yang H., Wang S., Cao Y., Liu M., Xie F., Liu P., Zhou B., Tong F., Cheng L., et al. Comparison of sentinel lymph node biopsy guided by indocyanine green, blue dye, and their combination in breast cancer patients: A prospective cohort study. World J. Surg. Oncol. 2017;15:196. doi: 10.1186/s12957-017-1264-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Morton D.L., Thompson J.F., Essner R., Elashoff R., Stern S.L., Nieweg O.E., Roses D.F., Karakousis C.P., Mozzillo N., Reintgen D., et al. Validation of the accuracy of intraoperative lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymphadenectomy for early-stage melanoma: A multicenter trial. Multicenter Selective Lymphadenectomy Trial Group. Ann. Surg. 1999;230:453–463. doi: 10.1097/00000658-199910000-00001. discussion 455–463. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Morton D.L., Cochran A.J. The case for lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymphadenectomy in the management of primary melanoma. Br. J. Dermatol. 2004;151:308–319. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2004.06133.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Stratigos A., Garbe C., Lebbe C., Malvehy J., del Marmol V., Pehamberger H., Peris K., Becker J.C., Zalaudek I., Saiag P., et al. Diagnosis and treatment of invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the skin: European consensus-based interdisciplinary guideline. Eur. J. Cancer. 2015;51:1989–2007. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2015.06.110. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources