Clinical ScienceThe effect of time to sentinel lymph node biopsy on cutaneous melanoma survival

- We investigated if the timing of SLNB influences 10-year melanoma mortality.
- Early SLNB (≤30 days) improves melanoma survival.

BackgroundWhether timing of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in cutaneous melanoma improves survival is not yet clear. The aim of this study was to investigate if the timing of SLNB influences long-term melanoma mortality.MethodsA 10-year retrospective cohort study was conducted on 748 cutaneous melanoma patients who underwent excision of the SLN. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated from Cox proportional hazards models.ResultsAfter adjusting for sex, age, Breslow thickness, mitotic rate, ulceration, and histologic type, patients who underwent early SLNB (≤30 days) and resulted positive on final pathology had a 3 times decreased risk of melanoma mortality (hazard ratio = .29; 95%confidence interval = .11 to .77) in comparison to patients who underwent delayed SLNB (≥31 days) and resulted positive on final pathology.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that early SLNB (≤30 days) improves melanoma survival.