Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 7-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Management of primary cutaneous melanoma of the head and neck: The University of Colorado experience and a review of the literature

Management of primary cutaneous melanoma of the head and neck: The University of Colorado... Background While elective lymph node dissection (ELND), adjuvant radiation therapy and sentinel lymph node biopsy have all been advocated in the routine management of primary cutaneous melanoma arising in the head and neck, the optimal management has not been defined. Methods We have reviewed our experience of 273 patients with primary melanoma of the head and neck entered into a prospective database at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC) from 1978 through 1998 and contrasted this with other reports in the literature. Results A total of 168 patients were identified that received their initial management at UCHSC and had no clinical evidence of distant disease. Only nine patients (5%) underwent ELND, and no patients received adjuvant radiation therapy. The local recurrence rate and 5‐year melanoma specific survival, according to Breslow thickness, were similar to centers where adjuvant radiation therapy or ELND are routinely performed. Our preliminary experience and a review of the literature suggests that the technique of sentinel lymph node biopsy is an accurate and low risk procedure that provides valuable prognostic information useful in the further management of these patients. Conclusions There is no clear indication that either ELND or adjuvant radiation therapy impacts on the outcome of patients with primary melanoma of the head and neck. Sentinel lymph node biopsy, in appropriate cases, is becoming the standard of care. J. Surg. Oncol. 2001;77:179–185. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Surgical Oncology Wiley

Management of primary cutaneous melanoma of the head and neck: The University of Colorado experience and a review of the literature

Download PDF
7 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/wiley/management-of-primary-cutaneous-melanoma-of-the-head-and-neck-the-KfuyUQ6txT

References (38)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSN
0022-4790
eISSN
1096-9098
DOI
10.1002/jso.1091
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Background While elective lymph node dissection (ELND), adjuvant radiation therapy and sentinel lymph node biopsy have all been advocated in the routine management of primary cutaneous melanoma arising in the head and neck, the optimal management has not been defined. Methods We have reviewed our experience of 273 patients with primary melanoma of the head and neck entered into a prospective database at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC) from 1978 through 1998 and contrasted this with other reports in the literature. Results A total of 168 patients were identified that received their initial management at UCHSC and had no clinical evidence of distant disease. Only nine patients (5%) underwent ELND, and no patients received adjuvant radiation therapy. The local recurrence rate and 5‐year melanoma specific survival, according to Breslow thickness, were similar to centers where adjuvant radiation therapy or ELND are routinely performed. Our preliminary experience and a review of the literature suggests that the technique of sentinel lymph node biopsy is an accurate and low risk procedure that provides valuable prognostic information useful in the further management of these patients. Conclusions There is no clear indication that either ELND or adjuvant radiation therapy impacts on the outcome of patients with primary melanoma of the head and neck. Sentinel lymph node biopsy, in appropriate cases, is becoming the standard of care. J. Surg. Oncol. 2001;77:179–185. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Journal

Journal of Surgical Oncology – Wiley

Published: Jul 1, 2001

There are no references for this article.