Department of Dermatology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Midashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.
Int J Clin Oncol. 2009 Dec;14(6):485-9. doi: 10.1007/s10147-009-0942-z. Epub 2009 Dec 5.
The notion of sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping and its use during surgery for staging cancer was initially reported in 1992, in a study involving patients with malignant melanoma. To date SLN biopsy (SLNB) has emerged as a rational approach for staging regional lymph nodes in patients with clinically node-negative melanoma (stage I and II disease). The significance of SLNB as a staging and prognostic tool in melanoma is widely accepted. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of the SLN remains very controversial. Whether SLNB improves survival in melanoma patients remains an open question.
前哨淋巴结（SLN）检测和其在癌症分期手术中的应用最初于 1992 年在一项涉及恶性黑色素瘤患者的研究中报道。迄今为止，SLN 活检（SLNB）已成为临床淋巴结阴性黑色素瘤（I 期和 II 期疾病）患者进行区域淋巴结分期的合理方法。SLNB 作为黑色素瘤分期和预后工具的意义已被广泛接受。SLN 的逆转录-聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）分析仍然存在很大争议。SLNB 是否能改善黑色素瘤患者的生存仍然是一个悬而未决的问题。
