The incidence of skin melanoma is increasing worldwide. The presence of lymph node metastasis is the most important prognostic factor of this disease, the thicker the lesion the greater the likelihood of lymph node involvement. Approximately 20% of patients with Breslow depth 1-4 mm have lymph node metastasis. Sentinel lymph node biopsy is standard procedure in the management of patients with skin melanoma, reflecting progress in the treatment of this disease since this procedure avoids an unnecessary radical lymphadenectomy, thus reducing the morbidity of treatment. This paper describes a series of cases involving sentinel lymph node biopsy in melanoma patients in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil between 2008 and 2009.
Medical oncology; Melanoma; Radionuclide imaging; Sentinel lymph node biopsy; Skin neoplasms
