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Sentinel lymph node biopsy status is not the most powerful predictor of prognosis in cutaneous melanoma
Author(s) -
Zagarella Samuel,
Lee Stephen,
Heenan Peter
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
australasian journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.67
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 1440-0960
pISSN - 0004-8380
DOI - 10.1111/ajd.12732
Subject(s) - medicine , sentinel lymph node , melanoma , biopsy , sentinel node , breslow thickness , lymph node , dermatology , oncology , pathology , cancer , breast cancer , cancer research
Sentinel lymph node (SLN) status has been advocated in several recently published articles as the single most valuable prognostic marker for melanoma, and of greater prognostic importance than more established parameters such as Breslow thickness. A careful examination of the evidence for these claims, however, indicates that they are not substantiated by the available data, are somewhat misleading and suggest misinterpretation of the statistical analysis of the papers to which they refer. We will examine the basis for these claims and show why they are invalid.