Oncology Commons^™

Guidance Of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy Decisions In Patients With T1-T2 Melanoma Using Gene Expression Profiling., John T. Vetto, Eddy C. Hsueh, Brian R. Gastman, Larry D. Dillon, Federico A. Monzon, Robert W. Cook, Jennifer Keller, Xin Huang, Andrew Fleming, Preston Hewgley, Pedram Gerami, Sancy Leachman, Jeffrey D. Wayne, Adam C. Berger, Martin D. Fleming

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

AIM: Can gene expression profiling be used to identify patients with T1-T2 melanoma at low risk for sentinel lymph node (SLN) positivity?

PATIENTS & METHODS: Bioinformatics modeling determined a population in which a 31-gene expression profile test predicted <5% SLN positivity. Multicenter, prospectively-tested (n = 1421) and retrospective (n = 690) cohorts were used for validation and outcomes, respectively.

RESULTS: Patients 55-64 years and ≥65 years with a class 1A (low-risk) profile had SLN positivity rates of 4.9% and 1.6%. Class 2B (high-risk) patients had SLN positivity rates of 30.8% and 11.9%. Melanoma-specific survival was 99.3% for patients ≥55 years with class 1A, T1-T2 tumors and 55.0% for class 2B, SLN-positive, T1-T2 tumors.

CONCLUSION: The 31-gene expression profile test identifies patients …

Altered Drainage Patterns In Patients With Melanoma And Previous Axillary Dissection., Caitlyn M. Johnson, Charles Intenzo, Michael Mastrangelo, Kendra Feeney, Adam C. Berger

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

The incidence of melanoma is increasing rapidly in the United States. Sentinel lymph node biopsy is an important diagnostic tool in the treatment and staging of melanoma. However, many patients with melanoma will have had lymph node surgery for previous melanoma or breast cancer. We set out to examine alterations in drainage patterns in patients with previous axillary dissection for breast cancer. We reviewed four patients with truncal and/or extremity melanomas and examined their lymphoscintigraphy and drainage patterns. Three patients with truncal melanoma mapped to cervical lymph nodes and a fourth patient with an arm melanoma mapped to her previously …