Adjuvant Therapy Decision-Making in Melanoma: SLN Biopsy Status as a Key Factor for Clinical Stage IIB/C Patients
Source: Physician’s Weekly, April 2023
The following is a summary of “Sentinel lymph node biopsy status improves adjuvant therapy decision-making in patients with clinical stage IIB/C melanoma: A population-based analysis,” published in the APRIL 2023 issue of Dermatology by Sharon, et al.
Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy effectiveness for patients with clinical stage IIB/C melanoma has been questioned in light of the outcomes of the most recent KEYNOTE-716 experiment. Therefore, for a study, researchers sought to analyze the value of SLN status in influencing the suggestions for adjuvant therapy.
The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was used to locate patients having wide local excision and SLN biopsy for clinical stage IIB/C cutaneous melanoma between 2004 and 2011. Two prognostic models were created to predict melanoma-specific death (MSD) probability. One included SLN status, whereas the other did not (MSD). The main result showed net benefit at 20% to 40% risk of 5-year MSD treatment criteria.