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Review
. 2024 May 30;13(11):3232.
doi: 10.3390/jcm13113232.

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Atypical Spitz Tumor: A Systematic Review

Marcodomenico Mazza  1 , Francesco Cavallin  2 , Elisa Galasso  3 , Paolo Del Fiore  1 , Rocco Cappellesso  4 , Fortunato Cassalia  5 , Saveria Tropea  1 , Irene Russo  1 , Mauro Alaibac  3 , Simone Mocellin  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Atypical Spitz Tumor: A Systematic Review

Marcodomenico Mazza et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Background: Atypical Spitz tumor (AST) is an intermediate category among Spitz melanocytic neoplasms. Sentinel node biopsy (SNB) has been proposed in the clinical management of AST patients, but this approach remains the subject of debate. This systematic review aims to summarize the available evidence on SNB procedures in AST patients.

Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted, including MEDLINE/Pubmed, EMBASE, and SCOPUS, through April 2023. Case series, cohort studies, and case-control studies of AST patients were eligible for inclusion. PRISMA guidelines were followed.

Results: Twenty-two studies with a total of 756 AST patients were included. The pooled SNB prevalence was 54% (95% CI 32 to 75%), with substantial heterogeneity (I2 90%). The pooled SNB+ prevalence was 35% (95% CI 25 to 46%) with moderate heterogeneity (I2 39%). Lymphadenectomy was performed in 0-100% of SNB+ patients. Overall survival rates ranged from 93% to 100%, and disease-free survival ranged from 87% to 100% in AST patients. Overall and disease-free survival rates were 100% in SNB patients. Pooled survival estimates were not calculated due to the heterogeneous timing of the survival assessment and/or the small size of the subgroups. All studies clearly reported inclusion criteria and measured the condition in a standard way for all participants, but only 50% indicated valid methods for the identification of the condition.

Conclusions: The oncologic behavior of AST is related to an almost always favorable outcome. SNB does not seem to be relevant as a staging or prognostic procedure, and its indication remains debatable and controversial.

Keywords: atypical; sentinel lymph node biopsy; skin neoplasm; spitz tumor; systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow-chart of selection process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot: prevalence of patients undergoing SNB among ATS patients [9,10,15,19,24,25,26,27,29,32,33,34,35,36].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plot: prevalence of SNB+ patients among those undergoing SNB [9,10,15,19,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,38,39,40,41].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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