Intraoperative lymphatic mapping and selective cervical lymphadenectomy for early-stage melanomas of the head and neck.

PURPOSE

We developed intraoperative lymphatic mapping with selective lymphadenectomy (SLND) to identify micrometastatic spread of cutaneous melanoma to regional lymph nodes. This study was undertaken to assess the sensitivity and specificity of our technique in patients with clinical stage I (CS-I) melanoma of the head or neck.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Seventy-two CS-I melanoma patients underwent intraoperative lymphatic mapping of primary cutaneous melanomas located on the head, neck, or upper chest/back draining to the neck. Key (sentinel) cervical lymph nodes in the regional lymphatic drainage basin were identified, selectively excised during SLND, and examined for microscopic evidence of tumor cells. If these sentinel nodes were tumor-negative, the surgery was concluded; if the sentinel nodes were tumor-positive, all nodes in the drainage basin were removed during en bloc lymphadenectomy (LND).

RESULTS

Intraoperative lymphatic mapping identified sentinel nodes in 90% of the regional drainage basins. Fifteen percent of these nodes were tumor-positive, indicating the need for LND. There were no false-negative sentinel nodes, and extended follow-up showed no local nodal recurrences in patients whose sentinel-node histology did not indicate the need for LND.

CONCLUSION

Intraoperative lymphatic mapping and SLND is a minimally invasive and highly accurate screening technique for determining which patients with CS-I head and neck melanomas have subclinical node metastases and therefore might benefit from cervical LND.