Elective lymph node dissection in stage I cutaneous malignant melanoma of the head and neck. A report from the Swedish Melanoma Study Group.

The effect of elective lymph node dissection in patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma of the head and neck was investigated in a retrospective study. Of 517 patients in clinical stage I, 84 underwent elective dissection of the ipsilateral neck lymph nodes. In six of these patients, lymph node metastases were demonstrated at histopathological examination. There was a slight reduction in the incidence of recurrent disease in the regional lymph nodes in the group of patients who had undergone elective lymph node dissection, but this difference was not statistically significant. No significant differences were seen between the two groups regarding overall survival of disease-related survival.