Association between circulating tumor cells and prognosis in patients with stage III melanoma with sentinel lymph node metastasis in a phase III international multicenter trial.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

The outcomes of patients with melanoma who have sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastases can be highly variable, which has precluded establishment of consensus regarding treatment of the group. The detection of high-risk patients from this clinical setting may be helpful for determination of both prognosis and management. We report the utility of multimarker reverse-transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with melanoma diagnosed with SLN metastases in a phase III, international, multicenter clinical trial.

Patients and methods

Blood specimens were collected from patients with melanoma (n = 331) who were clinically disease-free after complete lymphadenectomy (CLND) before entering onto a random

SUBMITTER: Hoshimoto S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3478576 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature