Quantitative measurement of melanoma spread in sentinel lymph nodes and survival.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Sentinel lymph node spread is a crucial factor in melanoma outcome. We aimed to define the impact of minimal cancer spread and of increasing numbers of disseminated cancer cells on melanoma-specific survival.

Methods and findings

We analyzed 1,834 sentinel nodes from 1,027 patients with ultrasound node-negative melanoma who underwent sentinel node biopsy between February 8, 2000, and June 19, 2008, by histopathology including immunohistochemistry and quantitative immunocytology. For immunocytology we recorded the number of disseminated cancer cells (DCCs) per million lymph node cells (DCC density [DCCD]) after disaggregation and immunostaining for the melanocytic marker gp100. None of the control lymph nodes from non-melanoma patients (n = 52) harbored gp100-posit

SUBMITTER: Ulmer A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3928050 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature