The impact of factors beyond Breslow depth on predicting sentinel lymph node positivity in melanoma

Abstract

Younger age, increasing mitotic rate (especially in younger patients), increasing Breslow depth (especially in older patients), angiolymphatic invasion, and trunk or lower extremity location of the primary tumor were associated with a greater likelihood of positive SLN status. The current results support the use of factors beyond Breslow depth to determine the risk of positive SLN status in patients with cutaneous melanoma.