Sentinel Lymph Node Status Is the Strongest Independent Predictor for Disease-Free and Overall Survival in Patients with Thick Melanoma

The study from 2012 involved 768 patients who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), with 69 having thick malignant melanomas (MMs). It found that sentinel lymph node (SLN) status was the strongest independent predictor for both disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) among these patients. Of the 69 patients, 37 had a negative SLN status and 32 had a positive SLN status. The multivariate analysis showed that a positive SLN status was significantly associated with higher rates of disease relapses and was the only significant independent predictor for mortality. The study emphasized the importance of SLN status in staging and treatment planning for patients with thick MM and recommended SLNB as a standard practice for these patients.