Sentinel-lymph-node biopsy for cutaneous melanoma

Tumescent anesthesia use for cutaneous malignancies does not impact sentinel node identification but decreases estimated blood loss

BACKGROUND

Sentinel node biopsy is performed to stage clinically and radiographically occult regional disease in cases of malignancy, including cutaneous cancer such as melanoma. The use of tumescent anesthesia with sentinel node biopsy for cutaneous malignancies has not been well studied. Therefore, we aimed to compare the rate of successful sentinel node identification and estimated blood loss between patients who underwent sentinel node biopsy with and without the use of tumescent anesthesia.

METHODS

A retrospective review was conducted of a prospectively maintained single-institution database of all patients who underwent reconstruction after the extirpation of a cutaneous malignancy over an 18-month period. Patient demographics, tumor histology, and characteristics, indication for and success of sentinel node biopsy, use of tumescent anesthesia, and total estimated blood loss were examined.

RESULTS

Sentinel node biopsy was performed in 15 of 39 patients (38.5%) receiving tumescent anesthesia compared with 6 of 26 patients (23.1%) not receiving it (p = 0.19). Sentinel node biopsy had a success rate of 100% in the tumescent and nontumescent anesthesia groups. The mean estimated blood loss in the tumescent anesthesia group was 36.7 mL versus 59.6 mL in the nontumescent anesthesia group (p < 0.001). Complication rates were comparable between the tumescent anesthesia (12.8%) and nontumescent anesthesia (19.2%) groups (p = 0.48).

CONCLUSION

The use of tumescent anesthesia in cutaneous malignancy extirpation and immediate reconstruction was not associated with a decreased sentinel node identification rate or change in complication rates. However, tumescent anesthesia was associated with a decrease in the estimated blood loss.

Predictive accuracy of risk prediction models for recurrence, metastasis and survival for early-stage cutaneous melanoma: a systematic review

OBJECTIVES

To identify prognostic models for melanoma survival, recurrence and metastasis among American Joint Committee on Cancer stage I and II patients postsurgery; and evaluate model performance, including overall survival (OS) prediction.

DESIGN

Systematic review and narrative synthesis.

DATA SOURCES

Searched MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Science Citation Index and grey literature sources including cancer and guideline websites from 2000 to September 2021.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Included studies on risk prediction models for stage I and II melanoma in adults ≥18 years. Outcomes included OS, recurrence, metastases and model performance. No language or country of publication restrictions were applied.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

Two pairs of reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias using the CHecklist for critical Appraisal and data extraction for systematic Reviews of prediction Modelling Studies checklist and the Prediction study Risk of Bias Assessment Tool. Heterogeneous predictors prevented statistical synthesis.

RESULTS

From 28 967 records, 15 studies reporting 20 models were included; 8 (stage I), 2 (stage II), 7 (stages I-II) and 7 (stages not reported), but were clearly applicable to early stages. Clinicopathological predictors per model ranged from 3-10. The most common were: ulceration, Breslow thickness/depth, sociodemographic status and site. Where reported, discriminatory values were ≥0.7. Calibration measures showed good matches between predicted and observed rates. None of the studies assessed clinical usefulness of the models. Risk of bias was high in eight models, unclear in nine and low in three. Seven models were internally and externally cross-validated, six models were externally validated and eight models were internally validated.

CONCLUSIONS

All models are effective in their predictive performance, however the low quality of the evidence raises concern as to whether current follow-up recommendations following surgical treatment is adequate. Future models should incorporate biomarkers for improved accuracy.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42018086784.

Carbohydrate-based drugs launched during 2000-2021

Carbohydrates are fundamental molecules involved in nearly all aspects of lives, such as being involved in formating the genetic and energy materials, supporting the structure of organisms, constituting invasion and host defense systems, and forming antibiotics secondary metabolites. The naturally occurring carbohydrates and their derivatives have been extensively studied as therapeutic agents for the treatment of various diseases. During 2000 to 2021, totally 54 carbohydrate-based drugs which contain carbohydrate moities as the major structural units have been approved as drugs or diagnostic agents. Here we provide a comprehensive review on the chemical structures, activities, and clinical trial results of these carbohydrate-based drugs, which are categorized by their indications into antiviral drugs, antibacterial/antiparasitic drugs, anticancer drugs, antidiabetics drugs, cardiovascular drugs, nervous system drugs, and other agents.

Association of Sentinel Node Biopsy and Pathological Report Completeness with Survival Benefit for Cutaneous Melanoma and Factors Influencing Their Different Uses in European Populations

Objectives: Standard care for cutaneous melanoma includes an accurate pathology report (PR) and sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for staging clinically node-negative >1 mm melanomas. We aimed to investigate the frequency of these indicators across European countries, also assessing consequences for survival. Methods: We analyzed 4245 melanoma cases diagnosed in six European countries in 2009−2013. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the Odds Ratio (OR) of receiving complete PR with eight items or SLNB and model-based survival to estimate the five-year relative excess risks of death (RER). Results: Overall, 12% patients received a complete PR (range 2.3%, Estonia—20.1%, Italy); SLNB was performed for 68.8% of those with cN0cM0 stage (range 54.4%, Spain—81.7%, Portugal). The adjusted OR of receiving a complete PR was lower than the mean in Estonia (OR 0.11 (0.06−0.18)) and higher in Italy (OR 6.39 (4.90−8.34)) and Portugal (OR 1.39 (1.02−1.89)); it was higher for patients operated on in specialized than general hospitals (OR 1.42 (1.08−1.42)). In the multivariate models adjusted for age, sex, country and clinical-pathological characteristics, the RER resulted in being higher than the reference for patients not receiving a complete PR with eight items (RER 1.72 (1.08−2.72)), or for those not undergoing SLNB (RER 1.76 (1.26−2.47)) Patients with non-metastatic node-negative thickness >1 mm melanoma who did not undergo SLNB had a higher risk of death (RER (RER 1.69 (1.02−2.80)) than those who did. Conclusions: Accurate pathology profiling and SLNB carried survival benefit. Narrowing down between-countries differences in adhesion to guidelines might achieve better outcomes.

Medial Plantar Fasciocutaneous Flap Reconstruction for Load-Bearing Foot Defects in Patients With Acral Melanoma

BACKGROUND

Acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM) is a rare subtype of malignant melanoma that usually involves the weight-bearing plantar area. Plantar defect reconstruction has traditionally been performed with skin grafts or free flaps. This study examined the efficacy and safety of a medial plantar artery perforator flap (MPAPF) for plantar defect reconstruction after wide excision of an ALM.

METHOD

Twenty-five patients who underwent reconstruction with a MPAPF between 2011 and 2021 were enrolled in this study. The defects were classified into 6 plantar zones. Demographic and clinical data were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTS

Reconstruction with medial plantar fasciocutaneous island flaps was performed in all cases, except for 4 patients who had lesions in forefoot, which required free medial plantar flaps. Defects in lateral and posterior heel were more likely to present with venous congestion and require longer healing times and revision surgery (P < 0.05). The average follow-up period was 49 months. Four and 5 patients developed local recurrence and distant metastasis, respectively. Four cases of hyperkeratosis and paresthesia were documented, but there were no cases of ulceration or wound dehiscence. None of the cases required secondary debulking procedures.

CONCLUSIONS

The MPAPF is safe and effective for plantar defect reconstruction among patients with ALM. Meticulous dissection and adequate tunneling are needed, particularly for defects in the lateral and posterior heel, to minimize flap congestion and revision operations.

A Clinicopathological Analysis of Melanocytic Nevi: A Retrospective Series

Purpose: Melanocytic nevi are common cutaneous lesions. This study aimed to demonstrate the concordance and discordance between clinical and histopathological diagnoses of melanocytic nevi and the importance of histological evaluation in differentiating malignant lesions from diseases with similar clinical manifestations.

Patients and Methods: We studied 4,561 consecutive patients with a clinical diagnosis of melanocytic nevi from 2014 to 2019. We compared the clinical diagnosis with the histopathological diagnosis to establish a histopathological concordance rate and then investigated the effects of clinical characteristics and the reasons for removal on misclassification.

Results: Among 4,561 patients who were clinically diagnosed with melanocytic nevi, the overall histopathological concordance rate was 82.11% (3,745 of 4,561 patients), while the histopathological discordance rate was 17.89% (816 of 4,561 patients). The histopathological concordance included 90.25% common acquired melanocytic nevi (3,380 of 3,745 patients) and 9.75% other benign melanocytic neoplasms (365 of 3,745 patients). The most common diagnostic change was to seborrheic keratosis (n = 470, 10.30%), followed by basal cell carcinoma (n = 64, 1.40%), vascular tumor (n = 53, 1.16%), fibroma (n = 43, 0.94%), epidermoid cyst (n = 34, 0.75%), wart (n = 30, 0.66%), melanoma (n = 24, 0.53%), Bowen's disease (n = 16, 0.35%), squamous cell carcinoma (n = 4, 0.09%), keratoacanthoma (n = 2, 0.04%), and other neoplasms (n = 76, 1.67%). Male sex, old age, location of the lesion, and the reasons for removal have a potential effect on misclassification. The percentages of misclassified lesions on the trunk and limbs and the perineum and buttocks were higher than those in lesions without a change in diagnosis. Importantly, locations of lesions on the head and neck were significantly related to a change in diagnosis to non-melanoma skin cancer, while locations on the hands and feet were significantly related to a change in diagnosis to melanoma. In addition to a typical clinical features, removal due to lesion changes or repeated stimulation was significantly associated with a change in diagnosis to melanoma.

Conclusions: Our study emphasizes the clinical differential diagnosis of melanocytic nevi, especially the possibility of malignant tumors. The occurrence of clinical features associated with clinicopathological discordance should raise the clinical suspect and be carefully differentiated from malignant tumors.

Indocyanine Green Fluorescence Imaging with Lymphoscintigraphy Improves the Accuracy of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Melanoma

BACKGROUND

Despite advances in melanoma management, there remains room for improvement in the accuracy of sentinel lymph node biopsy. The authors analyzed a prospective cohort of patients with primary cutaneous melanoma who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy with lymphoscintigraphy and indocyanine green fluorescence to evaluate the quality and accuracy of this technique.

METHODS

Consecutive primary cutaneous melanoma patients who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy with radioisotope lymphoscintigraphy and indocyanine green fluorescence from 2012 to 2018 were prospectively enrolled. Analysis was performed of melanoma characteristics, means of identifying sentinel lymph nodes, sentinel lymph node status, and recurrence.

RESULTS

Five hundred ninety-four melanomas and 1827 nodes were analyzed; 1556 nodes (85.2 percent) were identified by radioactivity/fluorescence, 255 (14 percent) by radioactivity only, and 16 (0.9 percent) with indocyanine green only. There were 163 positive sentinel nodes. One hundred forty-seven (90.2 percent) were identified by radioactivity/fluorescence, 13 (8 percent) by radioactivity only, and three (0.6 percent) with fluorescence only. Of the 128 patients with a positive biopsy, eight patients' (6.3 percent) nodes were identified by radioactivity only and four (3.4 percent) with fluorescence only. There were 128 patients with a positive biopsy, 454 with a negative biopsy, and 12 patients who had a negative biopsy with subsequent nodal recurrence. Mean follow-up was 2.8 years.

CONCLUSIONS

In the study of the largest cohort of patients with primary cutaneous melanoma who underwent a sentinel lymph node biopsy with radioisotope lymphoscintigraphy and indocyanine green-based technology, the quality and accuracy of this technique are demonstrated. This has important implications for melanoma patients, as the adoption of this approach with subsequent accurate staging, adjuvant workup, and treatment may improve survival outcomes. .

CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Diagnostic, II.

Genetic variants in TKT and DERA in the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate pathway predict melanoma survival

BACKGROUND

Cutaneous melanoma (CM) is the most lethal type of skin cancers. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) plays an important role in anabolic reactions and tumorigenesis, but many genes are involved in the NADPH system.

METHODS

We used 10,912 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (2018 genotyped and 8894 imputed) in 134 NADPH-related genes from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 858 patients from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) in a single-locus analysis to predict CM survival. We then replicated the results in another GWAS data set of 409 patients from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS).

RESULTS

There were 95 of 858 (11.1%) and 48 of 409 (11.7%) patients who died of CM, respectively. In multivariable Cox regression analyses, we identified two independent SNPs (TKT rs9864057 G > A and deoxyribose phosphate aldolase (DERA) rs12297652 A > G) to be significantly associated with CM-specific survival [hazards ratio (HR) of 1.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.18-1.96, P = 1.06 × 10^-3 and 1.51 (1.19-1.91, 5.89 × 10^-4)] in the meta-analysis, respectively. Furthermore, an increasing number of risk genotypes of these two SNPs was associated with a higher risk of death in the MDACC, the NHS/HPFS, and their combined data sets (P_trend<0.001, = 0.004 and <0.001, respectively). In the expression quantitative trait loci analysis, TKT rs9864057 G > A and DERA rs12297652 A > G were also significantly associated with higher mRNA expression levels in sun-exposed lower-leg skin (P = 0.043 and 0.006, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that these two potentially functional SNPs may be valuable prognostic biomarkers for CM survival, but larger studies are needed to validate these findings.

Salivary cortisol levels and anxiety in melanoma patients undergoing sentinel lymph node excision under local anesthesia versus general anesthesia: a prospective study

BACKGROUND

Sentinel lymph node excision (SLNE) can be performed in tumescent local anesthesia (TLA) or general anesthesia (GA). Perioperative cortisol level changes and anxiety are common in surgical interventions and might be influenced by the type of anesthesia. In this study, we intended to determine whether the type of anesthesia impacts the patients' perioperative levels of salivary cortisol (primary outcome) and the feeling of anxiety evaluated by psychological questionnaires (secondary outcome).

METHODS

All melanoma patients of age undergoing SLNE at the University Hospital Essen, Germany, could be included in the study. Exclusion criteria were patients' intake of glucocorticoids or psychotropic medication during the former 6 months, pregnancy, age under 18 years, and BMI ≥ 30 as salivary cortisol levels were reported to be significantly impacted by obesity and might confound results.

RESULTS

In total, 111 melanoma patients undergoing SLNE were included in our prospective study between May 2011 and April 2017 and could choose between TLA or GA. Salivary cortisol levels were measured three times intraoperatively, twice on the third and second preoperative day and twice on the second postoperative day. To assess anxiety, patients completed questionnaires (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)) perioperatively. Patients of both groups exhibited comparable baseline levels of cortisol and perioperative anxiety levels. Independent of the type of anesthesia, all patients showed significantly increasing salivary cortisol level from baseline to 30 min before surgery (T3) (TLA: t = 5.07, p < 0.001; GA: t = 3.09, p = 0.006). Post hoc independent t tests showed that the TLA group exhibited significantly higher cortisol concentrations at the beginning of surgery (T4; t = 3.29, p = 0.002) as well as 20 min after incision (T5; t = 277, p = 0.008) compared to the GA group.

CONCLUSIONS

The type of anesthesia chosen for SLNE surgery significantly affects intraoperative cortisol levels in melanoma patients. Further studies are mandatory to evaluate the relevance of endogenous perioperative cortisol levels on the postoperative clinical course.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00003076, registered 1 May 2011.

Acral malignant melanoma; emphasis on the primary metastasis and the usefulness of preoperative ultrasound for sentinel lymph node metastasis

This study aimed to evaluate the most common primary metastatic location of acral malignant melanoma and to evaluate the usefulness of preoperative ultrasound for sentinel lymph node metastasis. Ninety-eight Korean acral malignant melanoma patients were enrolled. Acral malignant melanoma was present in 76 lower limbs and in 22 upper limbs. The most common origin location was the sole (33.7%). The most common location of primary metastasis was loco-regional recurrence (22/34, 64.7%). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of preoperative sentinel lymph node ultrasound was 29.1%, 94.6%, 63.6%, and 80.5%, respectively. We postulate the unusefulness of preoperative ultrasound for sentinel lymph node metastasis in acral malignant melanoma.

Indocyanine Green Fluorescence Imaging with Lymphoscintigraphy for Sentinel Node Biopsy in Melanoma: Increasing the Sentinel Lymph Node-Positive Rate

INTRODUCTION

The goal of this study was to analyze patients who underwent a sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in melanoma with the combination of radioisotope lymphoscintigraphy and indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence imaging to compare our true positive (TP) rate, a means to perform immediate analysis of the SLNB, with that of the literature.

METHODS

Consecutive cutaneous melanoma patients who underwent SLNB with lymphoscintigraphy and ICG-based fluorescence imaging by the senior author (BG) from 2012 to 2018 were prospectively enrolled. The average expected SLN-positive rate per T stage was calculated based on three studies and compared with our SLN-positive rate.

RESULTS

Overall, 574 consecutive patients were analyzed. Average Breslow thickness was 1.9 mm. A total of 1754 sentinel nodes were sampled; 1497 were identified by gamma probe signaling and ICG, 241 were identified by gamma probe signaling only, and 16 were identified by ICG only. There were 123 (21.4%) patients with at least one positive SLN; 113 (91.9%) had at least one positive node identified with both gamma probe signaling and ICG, 8 (6.5%) had positive node(s) identified with gamma probe signaling only, and 2 (1.6%) had positive node(s) identified with ICG only. There was an overall 21.4% SLN-positive rate, with 8% T1, 18.5% T2, 41.1% T3, and 52.4% T4, which is higher than the predicted rates for each stage.

CONCLUSIONS

With the largest cohort of patients reported who underwent a melanoma SLNB with lymphoscintigraphy and ICG, we demonstrated that this technique results in higher SLN-positive rates than predicted. Patients are being followed but, given the TP data, knowledge of our results may foster the use of this modality to improve staging and treatment options.

Scalp melanoma with rectus abdominis metastasis: A rare case report

RATIONALE

The main cause of death in melanoma patients is widespread metastases as it can metastasize to almost every organ. However, melanoma skeletal muscle metastases (MSMM) are exceptional, and only a few cases of MSMM to the rectus abdominis muscles have been previously described. And our case maybe the first reported case in Asia region.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A 45-year-old man with history of right scalp melanoma, pT3aN0M0, stage IIA status post wide excision with 2 cm safe margin and right neck lymph node dissection at 5 years before. He had an almost 5 years disease-free period but presented to our clinic due to intermittent abdominal sharp pain for 1 to 2 months, with a palpable soft tissue mass over his right abdomen. Metastatic melanoma to rectus abdominis muscles was highly suspected.

INTERVENTIONS

The patient subsequently underwent radical en-block extraperitoneal 15 cm segmental resection of the right rectus abdominis muscle including tumor mass. The resected tumor was a black-gray colored solid mass, and the final histologic study showed a metastasis of melanoma.

OUTCOMES

Postoperative course of the patient was uneventful, and the right abdominal pain was improved. The patient was referred for further target therapy, but passed away half a year later due to multiple metastasis.

LESSONS

Scalp melanoma with isolated rectus muscle metastasis is extremely rare especially for a young aged patient who had an almost 5-year disease-free period. Surgery is a potentially curative therapy for patients with isolated metastatic melanoma. The goal is negative resection margins, in order to avoid local recurrences. Radical compartmental surgery should be considered for selected stage IV melanoma patients with sole rectus abdominis MSMM, whose disease could be amenable to complete resection, in preliminary procedure to prolong disease-free survival time. For oligometastatic disease, surgical resection is sometimes useful in carefully selected patients after systemic therapy; also, it could be performed as symptomatic treatment.

Sentinel lymph node excision with or without preoperative hybrid single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) in melanoma: study protocol for a multicentric randomized controlled trial

Background

Melanoma has become a growing interdisciplinary problem in public health worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, the incidence of melanoma is increasing faster than any other cancer in the world. Because melanoma metastasizes early into the regional lymph nodes, sentinel lymph node excision (SLNE) is included in the current American Joint Committee of Cancer guidelines. However SLNE of melanoma has a high false-negative rate of up to 44%.

Methods

The gold standard for detection and extirpation of the sentinel lymph node is preoperative lymphoscintigraphy. SPECT/CT provides complementary information: the advantages include accurate anatomical localization, identification of false positives, reduction in the number of false negatives, and alteration of the surgical approach. Therefore, sentinel lymph node-SPECT/CT provides valuable information before sentinel lymph node excision and advocates its use in melanoma. We present a multicenter, unblinded superiority randomized controlled trial to compare SPECT/CT-aided SLNE versus standard SLNE in melanoma patients.

Discussion

The primary efficacy endpoint is distant metastasis-free survival. Secondary endpoints comprise overall survival, disease-free survival, rate of local relapses within the follow-up period (false-negative rate of sentinel lymph node), number of positive sentinel lymph nodes (sensitivity, false-positive rate), complication rate, quality of life, quality-adjusted life years, inpatient days, and overall costs during hospital stays.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03683550. Registered on 20 September 2018.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13063-019-3197-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Predictive genetic profiles for regional lymph node metastasis in primary cutaneous melanoma: a case-matched pilot study

Melanoma confers an estimated lifetime risk of one in 50 for 2016. Clinicopathologic staging and sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) have been the standard of care for T2 and T3 lesions. Molecular biomarkers identified in the primary lesion suggestive of metastatic potential may offer a more conclusive prognosis of these lesions. Our purpose was to investigate molecular mutations in primary melanoma that were predictive for micrometastasis as defined by a positive sentinel lymph node (SLN) in a case-controlled manner: nine patients with negative SLN and nine with positive SLN. The two cohorts were statistically identical as shown by a t-test for age (P=0.17), race (P=0.18), Breslow depth (P=0.14), Clark level (P=0.33), host response (P=0.17), ulceration (P=0.50), satellite nodules (P=0.17), lymphovascular invasion (P=0.50), and mitotic activity (P=0.09). While no single gene was significantly associated with SLN status, multivariate analysis using classification and regression tree assessment revealed two unique gene profiles that completely represented regional metastases in our cohort as defined by a positive SLN: PIK3CA (+) NRAS (-) and PIK3CA (-) ERBB4 (-) TP53 (+) SMAD4 (-). These profiles were identified in 89% of the patients with positive SLN; none of these profiles were identified in the SLN-negative cohort. We identified two unique gene profiles associated with positive SLN that do not overlap other studies and highlight the genetic complexity that portends the metastatic phenotype in cutaneous melanoma.

Genetic variants in RORA and DNMT1 associated with cutaneous melanoma survival

Cutaneous melanoma (CM) is considered as a steroid hormone-related malignancy. However, few studies have evaluated the roles of genetic variants encoding steroid hormone receptor genes and their related regulators (SHR-related genes) in CM-specific survival (CMSS). Here, we performed a pathway-based analysis to evaluate genetic variants of 191 SHR-related genes in 858 CMSS patients using a dataset from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC), and then validated the results in an additional dataset of 409 patients from the Harvard GWAS. Using multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, we identified three-independent SNPs (RORA rs782917 G > A, RORA rs17204952 C > T and DNMT1 rs7253062 G > A) as predictors of CMSS, with a variant-allele attributed hazards ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval of 1.62 (1.25-2.09), 1.60 (1.20-2.13) and 1.52 (1.20-1.94), respectively. Combined analysis of risk genotypes of these three SNPs revealed a decreased CMSS in a dose-response manner as the number of risk genotypes increased (ptrend  < 0.001); however, no improvement in the prediction model was observed (area under the curve [AUC] = 79.6-80.8%, p = 0.656), when these risk genotypes were added to the model containing clinical variables. Our findings suggest that genetic variants of RORA and DNMT1 may be promising biomarkers for CMSS, but these results needed to be validated in future larger studies.

Personal history of keratinocyte carcinoma is associated with reduced risk of death from invasive melanoma in men

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have found an increased risk for invasive cutaneous melanoma (CM) among those with a history of keratinocyte carcinoma (KC).

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of CM death after KC.

METHODS

The study was based on the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to examine the hazard ratio (HR) of death due to CM associated with personal history of KC among the entire study population (primary analysis) and among participants with invasive CM (secondary analysis), respectively.

RESULTS

We documented a total of 908 participants with invasive CM over a total of 0.7 million person-years of follow-up. Among all participants, the risk for development of either lethal or nonlethal invasive CM increased for those with a history of KC. The risk for death due to melanoma based on KC history was not significantly increased, with an HR of 1.53 (95% confidence interval, 0.95-2.46). In the case-only analysis, those with a history of KC had a significantly lower risk for death due to melanoma than those with no such history (HR, 0.60; 95% confidence interval, 0.35-0.94).

LIMITATIONS

Because the population covered by the Health Professionals Follow-up Study consists exclusively of male health professionals, the results of this study may not be extended to the entire population.

CONCLUSION

Personal history of KC is associated with a decreased risk for melanoma-specific death among male patients with invasive CM.

Gap-enhanced Raman tags for high-contrast sentinel lymph node imaging

The sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is gaining in popularity as a procedure to investigate the lymphatic metastasis of malignant tumors. The commonly used techniques to identify the SLNs in clinical practice are blue dyes-guided visualization, radioisotope-based detection and near-infrared fluorescence imaging. However, all these methods have not been found to perfectly fit the clinical criteria with issues such as short retention time in SLN, poor spatial resolution, autofluorescence, low photostability and high cost. In this study, we have reported a new type of nanoprobes, named, gap-enhanced Raman tags (GERTs) for the SLN Raman imaging. With the advantageous features including unique "fingerprint" Raman signal, strong Raman enhancement, high photostability, good biocompatibility and extra-long retention time, we have demonstrated that GERTs are greatly favorable for high-contrast and deep SLN Raman imaging, which meanwhile reveals the dynamic migration behavior of the probes entering the SLN. In addition, a quantitative volumetric Raman imaging (qVRI) data-processing method is employed to acquire a high-resolution 3-dimensional (3D) margin of SLN as well as the content variation of GERTs in the SLN. Moreover, SLN detection could be realized via a cost-effective commercial portable Raman scanner. Therefore, GERTs hold the great potential to be translated in clinical application for accurate and intraoperative location of the SLN.

Predictive Factors for the Positivity of the Sentinel Lymph Node in Malignant Melanoma

Malignant melanoma is a neoplasia that has its origin in the melanocytes, the melanin-synthesizing pigment cells present in the epidermis or sometimes in the dermis. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is the standard procedure used for staging patients with malignant melanoma in the majority of surgical centers in the world. With a probability of approximately 20% of finding positive lymph nodes, it spares a large number of patients of a complete lymphatic dissection. The aim of this study is to evaluate the factors that can predict the positivity of sentinel lymph nodes in malignant melanoma patients. We performed a retrospective study analyzing the histopathologic reports of patients who underwent SLNB for malignant melanoma between 2012 and 2015. There were 32 patients identified, out of which only three (9.37%) had positive SLN, so the majority of our patients were spared of regional lymphatic dissection. In our series, lymphatic invasion (p = 0.01), Breslow index >4 mm (p = 0.0064), AJCC staging (p = 0.0008), the presence of precursory lesions (p = 002), and microsatellitosis (p = 0.017) were predictive factors for the positivity of the SLN in malignant melanoma patients. Although our results are similar to those published in the literature, we consider that larger cohort studies should be performed to consolidate our results.

Role of sentinel lymph node biopsy as a staging procedure in patients with melanoma: A critical appraisal

Worldwide, sentinel node (SN) biopsy for accurate staging is now part of the standard work-up of patients with melanomas ≥1.0 mm Breslow thickness, as it is for staging patients with breast cancer. Nuclear medicine imaging and surgical techniques have evolved to such a degree that a SN can be identified and removed in virtually every patient. Nevertheless, some opposition to a routine SN biopsy remains, perhaps due to a failure to appreciate the serious implications of incomplete or inaccurate staging. Guided by a critical appraisal of the available evidence, this review elucidates the definition of an SN, discusses the sensitivity and specificity of the information it provides, emphasises that it is a minor staging procedure that can lead to improved survival when followed by appropriate therapy, and explains the necessarily unconventional and complex design of the only randomised trial that addresses this subject. It also describes other benefits and risks of an SN biopsy and outlines its role in current melanoma management.

Terahertz imaging of metastatic lymph nodes using spectroscopic integration technique

Terahertz (THz) imaging was used to differentiate the metastatic states of frozen lymph nodes (LNs) by using spectroscopic integration technique (SIT). The metastatic states were classified into three groups: healthy LNs, completely metastatic LNs, and partially metastatic LNs, which were obtained from three mice without infection and six mice infected with murine melanoma cells for 30 days and 15 days, respectively. Under histological examination, the healthy LNs and completely metastatic LNs were found to have a homogeneous cellular structure but the partially metastatic LNs had interfaces of the melanoma and healthy tissue. THz signals between the experimental groups were not distinguished at room temperature due to high attenuation by water in the tissues. However, a signal gap between the healthy and completely metastatic LNs was detected at freezing temperature. The signal gap could be enhanced by using SIT that is a signal processing method dichotomizing the signal difference between the healthy cells and melanoma cells with their normalized spectral integration. This technique clearly imaged the interfaces in the partially metastatic LNs, which could not be achieved by existing methods using a peak point or spectral value. The image resolution was high enough to recognize a metastatic area of about 0.7 mm size in the partially metastatic LNs. Therefore, this pilot study demonstrated that THz imaging of the frozen specimen using SIT can be used to diagnose the metastatic state of LNs for clinical application.

Genetic variants in the integrin signaling pathway genes predict cutaneous melanoma survival

To identify genetic variants involved in prognosis of cutaneous melanoma (CM), we investigated associations of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of genes in the integrin signaling pathway with CM survival by re-analyzing a published genome-wide association study (GWAS) from The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) and then validated significant SNPs in another GWAS from Harvard University. In the MDACC study, 1,148 SNPs were significantly associated with CM-specific survival (CMSS) (p ≤ 0.050 and false-positive report probability ≤ 0.20), and nine SNPs were validated in the Harvard study (p ≤ 0.050). Among these, three independent SNPs (i.e., DOCK1 rs11018104 T > A, rs35748949 C > T and PAK2 rs1718404 C > T) showed a predictive role in CMSS, with an effect-allele attributed adjusted hazards ratio [adjHR of 1.50 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.18-1.90, p = 7.46E-04), 1.53 (1.18-1.97, 1.18E-03) and 0.58 (0.45-0.76, 5.60E-05), respectively]. Haplotype analysis revealed that a haplotype carrying two risk alleles A-T in DOCK1 was associated with the poorest survival in both MDACC (adjHR = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.19-2.50, p = 0.004) and Harvard (adjHR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.14-3.33, p = 0.010) studies. In addition, patients with an increasing number of unfavorable genotypes (NUGs) for these three SNPs had a poorer survival. Incorporating NUGs with clinical variables showed a significantly improved ability to classify CMSS (AUC increased from 86.8% to 88.6%, p = 0.031). Genetic variants in the integrin signaling pathway may independently or jointly modulate the survival of CM patients. Further large, prospective studies are needed to validate these findings.

Genetic variants in the PIWI-piRNA pathway gene DCP1A predict melanoma disease-specific survival

The Piwi-piRNA pathway is important for germ cell maintenance, genome integrity, DNA methylation and retrotransposon control and thus may be involved in cancer development. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed prognostic roles of 3,116 common SNPs in PIWI-piRNA pathway genes in melanoma disease-specific survival. A published genome-wide association study (GWAS) by The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center was used to identify associated SNPs, which were later validated by another GWAS from the Harvard Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study. After multiple testing correction, we found that there were 27 common SNPs in two genes (PIWIL4 and DCP1A) with false discovery rate < 0.2 in the discovery dataset. Three tagSNPs (i.e., rs7933369 and rs508485 in PIWIL4; rs11551405 in DCP1A) were replicated. The rs11551405 A allele, located at the 3' UTR microRNA binding site of DCP1A, was associated with an increased risk of melanoma disease-specific death in both discovery dataset [adjusted Hazards ratio (HR) = 1.66, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.21-2.27, p =1.50 × 10^-3 ] and validation dataset (HR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.03-2.34, p = 0.038), compared with the C allele, and their meta-analysis showed an HR of 1.62 (95% CI, 1.26-2.08, p =1.55 × 10^-4 ). Using RNA-seq data from the 1000 Genomes Project, we found that DCP1A mRNA expression levels increased significantly with the A allele number of rs11551405. Additional large, prospective studies are needed to validate these findings.

64 CuS-labeled nanoparticles: a new sentinel-lymph-node-mapping agent for PET-CT and photoacoustic tomography

Determining sentinel lymph node (SLN) status is critical to cancer staging and treatment decisions. Currently, in clinical practice, ^99m Tc-radiocolloid-mediated planar scintigraphy and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) are used to guide the biopsy and resection of SLNs. Recently, an emerging technique that combines positron emission tomography (PET) and photoacoustic tomography (PAT; PET-PAT) may offer accurate information in detecting SLNs. Herein, we report a kind of ⁶⁴ CuS-labeled nanoparticle (⁶⁴ CuS-NP) for the detection of SLNs with PET-PAT. We subcutaneously injected ⁶⁴ CuS-NPs into the rats' forepaw pads. After 24 h, the rats' first draining axillary lymph nodes (i.e. the SLNs) could be clearly visualized with micro-PET (μPET)-CT. Rats were sacrificed after μPET-CT imaging, their axillary lymph nodes were surgically identified, and then PAT was employed to discover ⁶⁴ CuS-NP-avid SLNs, which were embedded inside tissues. Biodistribution, autoradiography, and copper staining analyses confirmed the SLNs' high uptake of ⁶⁴ CuS-NPs. Our study indicates that ⁶⁴ CuS-NPs are a promising dual-function agent for both PET-CT and PAT and could be used with multi-modal imaging strategies such as PET-PAT to identify SLNs in a clinical setting. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Adjusted Hospital Sentinel Lymph Node Positivity Rates in Melanoma: A Novel Potential Measure of Quality

OBJECTIVE

Our objectives were to examine whether hospital characteristics are associated with lower- and higher-than-expected sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) positivity rates and whether hospitals with lower- or higher-than-expected SLNB positivity rates have worse patient outcomes.

BACKGROUND

Surgeon and pathologist SLNB technical errors may lead to incorrect melanoma staging. A hospital's SLNB positivity rate may reflect its SLNB proficiency for melanoma, but this has never been investigated.

METHODS

Stage IA-III melanoma patients undergoing SLNB were identified from the National Cancer Data Base (2004-2010). Hospital-level SLNB positivity rates were adjusted for patient- and tumor factors. Hospitals were divided into terciles of adjusted SLNB positivity rates. Hospital characteristics (using multinomial logistic regression) and survival (using Cox modeling) were examined across terciles.

RESULTS

Of 33,639 SLNB patients (from 646 hospitals), 2916 (8.7%) had at least 1 positive lymph node. Hospitals with lower- (low tercile) and higher-than-expected (high tercile) SLNB positivity rates were more likely to be low-volume hospitals (low tercile: relative risk ratio (RRR) = 2.57, P = 0.002; high tercile: RRR = 2.3, P = 0.004) compared to hospitals with expected rates (middle tercile). Stage I patients treated at lower-than-expected SLNB positivity rate hospitals had worse 5-year survival than those treated at expected SLNB positivity rate hospitals (90.0% vs 91.9%, P = 0.014; hazard ratio = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.05-1.57); survival differences were not observed by SLNB positivity rates for stage II/III.

CONCLUSIONS

Adjusted hospital SLNB positivity rates varied widely. Surgery at hospitals with lower-than-expected SLNB positivity rates was associated with decreased survival. Hospital SLNB positivity rates may be a novel measure to confidentially report to hospitals for internal quality assessment.

Elevated Serum Leptin Levels are Associated With an Increased Risk of Sentinel Lymph Node Metastasis in Cutaneous Melanoma

The metabolic hormone leptin has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various malignancies and may contribute to the high rate of cancer in obese individuals. We reported that leptin and its receptor are expressed by melanoma tumors and cell lines, and that leptin stimulates proliferation of cultured melanoma cells. Here, we tested the hypothesis that leptin contributes to early melanoma progression by assessing its association with sentinel node positivity in cutaneous melanoma patients. The study enrolled 72 patients who were scheduled to undergo lymphatic mapping and sentinel node biopsy. Fasting blood was obtained before surgery, and serum leptin levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with a "raw" (assay value) and an "adjusted" value (raw value divided by body mass index). Leptin levels and other clinicopathologic parameters were compared between sentinel node positive and negative groups. Logistic regression models were used to predict sentinel node status using leptin and other relevant clinical parameters. The raw and adjusted leptin levels were significantly higher in the 15 patients with positive sentinel nodes. These findings could not be attributed to differences in body mass indices. Univariate models revealed raw leptin, adjusted leptin, Breslow thickness, and mitotic rate as significant predictors of sentinel node status. Leptin levels and Breslow thickness remained significant in multivariate models. Survival and follow-up analysis revealed more aggressive disease in diabetic patients. Elevated serum leptin levels predict sentinel node metastasis in melanoma. Validation of this finding in larger cohorts should enable better stratification of early stage melanoma patients.

Genetic variants in the vitamin D pathway genes VDBP and RXRA modulate cutaneous melanoma disease-specific survival

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the vitamin D pathway genes have been implicated in cutaneous melanoma (CM) risk, but their role in CM disease-specific survival (DSS) remains obscure. We comprehensively analyzed the prognostic roles of 2669 common SNPs in the vitamin D pathway genes using data from a published genome-wide association study (GWAS) at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) and then validated the SNPs of interest in another GWAS from the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Among the 2669 SNPs, 203 were significantly associated with DSS in MDACC dataset (P < 0.05 and false-positive report probability < 0.2), of which 18 were the tag SNPs. In the replication, two of these 18 SNPs showed nominal significance: the VDBP rs12512631 T > C was associated with a better DSS [combined hazards ratio (HR) = 0.66]; and the same for RXRA rs7850212 C > A (combined HR = 0.38), which were further confirmed by the Fine and Gray competing-risks regression model. Further bioinformatics analyses indicated that these loci may modulate corresponding gene methylation status.

Genomic Classification of Cutaneous Melanoma

We describe the landscape of genomic alterations in cutaneous melanomas through DNA, RNA, and protein-based analysis of 333 primary and/or metastatic melanomas from 331 patients. We establish a framework for genomic classification into one of four subtypes based on the pattern of the most prevalent significantly mutated genes: mutant BRAF, mutant RAS, mutant NF1, and Triple-WT (wild-type). Integrative analysis reveals enrichment of KIT mutations and focal amplifications and complex structural rearrangements as a feature of the Triple-WT subtype. We found no significant outcome correlation with genomic classification, but samples assigned a transcriptomic subclass enriched for immune gene expression associated with lymphocyte infiltrate on pathology review and high LCK protein expression, a T cell marker, were associated with improved patient survival. This clinicopathological and multi-dimensional analysis suggests that the prognosis of melanoma patients with regional metastases is influenced by tumor stroma immunobiology, offering insights to further personalize therapeutic decision-making.

Melanoma

Melanoma is a common cancer in the Western world with an increasing incidence. Sun exposure is still considered to be the major risk factor for melanoma. The prognosis of patients with malignant (advanced-stage) melanoma differs widely between countries, but public campaigns advocating early detection have led to significant reductions in mortality rates. As well as sun exposure, distinct genetic alterations have been identified as associated with melanoma. For example, families with melanoma who have germline mutations in CDKN2A are well known, whereas the vast majority of sporadic melanomas have mutations in the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade, which is the pathway with the highest oncogenic and therapeutic relevance for this disease. BRAF and NRAS mutations are typically found in cutaneous melanomas, whereas KIT mutations are predominantly observed in mucosal and acral melanomas. GNAQ and GNA11 mutations prevail in uveal melanomas. Additionally, the PI3K-AKT-PTEN pathway and the immune checkpoint pathways are important. The finding that programmed cell death protein 1 ligand 1 (PDL1) and PDL2 are expressed by melanoma cells, T cells, B cells and natural killer cells led to the recent development of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1)-specific antibodies (for example, nivolumab and pembrolizumab). Alongside other new drugs - namely, BRAF inhibitors (vemurafenib and dabrafenib) and MEK inhibitors (trametinib and cobimetinib) - these agents are very promising and have been shown to significantly improve prognosis for patients with advanced-stage metastatic disease. Early signs are apparent that these new treatment modalities are also improving long-term clinical benefit and the quality of life of patients. This Primer summarizes the current understanding of melanoma, from mechanistic insights to clinical progress. For an illustrated summary of this Primer, visit: http://go.nature.com/vX2N9s.

Cutaneous malignancy of the head and neck

Most skin cancers of the head and neck are nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs). Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are the most frequent types of NMSCs. Treatment options including wide local excision, Mohs surgery, sentinel lymph node biopsy, and cervical lymphadenectomy and adjuvant radiation when warranted offer a high cure rate, while balancing excellent functional and cosmetic outcomes. Evaluation by a multidisciplinary team is highly recommended with advanced and aggressive lesions. Avoidance of sunburns and acute sun damage, sunscreen protection, and early identification and evaluation of suspicious lesions remain the first line of defense against skin cancers.

Lymph node dissection for stage III melanoma

Locoregional spread of melanoma to its draining lymph node basin is the strongest negative prognostic factor for patients. Exclusive of clinical trials, patients with sentinel lymph node-positive (microscopic) or clinically palpable (macroscopic) nodal disease should undergo lymphadenectomy. This article reviews the management and technical aspects of surgical care for regional metastases. Adjunct therapies (immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and radiation) may supplement lymphadenectomy in certain patient populations. Surgical morbidity after lymphadenectomy can be substantial, creating opportunities for improvement via minimally invasive techniques or refined patient selection.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy for melanoma: is there a correlation of preoperative lymphatic mapping with sentinel lymph nodes harvested?

BACKGROUND

Nodal status is the most significant prognostic factor in melanoma. No study has examined the relationship between lymphoscintigraphy, γ probe counts, harvested nodes, and nodal status.

METHODS

Two-hundred sixty two patients were identified who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy for melanoma between 2001 and 2010. Clinicopathologic and treatment information was collected. The number of lymph nodes and basins demonstrated on lymphoscintigraphy was compared to those at surgery. γ Probe counts were compared.

RESULTS

Median age was 54.5 years (range, 18-90 years) with 52.3% male. Average Breslow depth was 2.0 (1.9) mm; 99.6% of lymphoscintigraphy studies identified at least 1 basin, 80% showed only 1 (range, 0-4). Lymphoscintigraphy identified on average 1.5 (0.9) sentinel nodes and 31% with secondary node. Surgery excised on average 2.6 (1.4) nodes involving 1.2 (0.5) basins; 17.6% had a positive sentinel lymph node. There was no difference in the sum or average of γ counts between positive and negative sentinel lymph node groups (P = 0.2, P = 0.5). When comparing lymphoscintigraphy and surgical excision, the correlation of lymphatic basins was r = 0.67 and of lymph node numbers was r = 0.33.

CONCLUSIONS

Lymphoscintigraphy should be used to identify the proper lymphatic basins for a sentinel node procedure, however, the removal of nodes must continue until the background count is less than 10%. The correlation of lymph node number identified on lymphoscintigraphy to surgical excision is weak. γ Probe counts cannot be used to differentiate positive from negative nodes and the positive lymph node is not always the hottest node.

Ligand-directed targeting of lymphatic vessels uncovers mechanistic insights in melanoma metastasis

Metastasis is the most lethal step of cancer progression in patients with invasive melanoma. In most human cancers, including melanoma, tumor dissemination through the lymphatic vasculature provides a major route for tumor metastasis. Unfortunately, molecular mechanisms that facilitate interactions between melanoma cells and lymphatic vessels are unknown. Here, we developed an unbiased approach based on molecular mimicry to identify specific receptors that mediate lymphatic endothelial-melanoma cell interactions and metastasis. By screening combinatorial peptide libraries directly on afferent lymphatic vessels resected from melanoma patients during sentinel lymphatic mapping and lymph node biopsies, we identified a significant cohort of melanoma and lymphatic surface binding peptide sequences. The screening approach was designed so that lymphatic endothelium binding peptides mimic cell surface proteins on tumor cells. Therefore, relevant metastasis and lymphatic markers were biochemically identified, and a comprehensive molecular profile of the lymphatic endothelium during melanoma metastasis was generated. Our results identified expression of the phosphatase 2 regulatory subunit A, α-isoform (PPP2R1A) on the cell surfaces of both melanoma cells and lymphatic endothelial cells. Validation experiments showed that PPP2R1A is expressed on the cell surfaces of both melanoma and lymphatic endothelial cells in vitro as well as independent melanoma patient samples. More importantly, PPP2R1A-PPP2R1A homodimers occur at the cellular level to mediate cell-cell interactions at the lymphatic-tumor interface. Our results revealed that PPP2R1A is a new biomarker for melanoma metastasis and show, for the first time to our knowledge, an active interaction between the lymphatic vasculature and melanoma cells during tumor progression.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy is indicated for patients with thick clinically lymph node-negative melanoma

BACKGROUND

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is indicated for the staging of clinically lymph node-negative melanoma of intermediate thickness, but its use is controversial in patients with thick melanoma.

METHODS

From 2002 to 2012, patients with melanoma measuring ≥4 mm in thickness were evaluated at a single institution. Associations between survival and clinicopathologic characteristics were explored.

RESULTS

Of 571 patients with melanomas measuring ≥4 mm in thickness and no distant metastases, the median age was 66 years and 401 patients (70.2%) were male. The median Breslow thickness was 6.2 mm; the predominant subtype was nodular (45.4%). SLNB was performed in 412 patients (72%) whereas 46 patients (8.1%) presented with clinically lymph node-positive disease and 113 patients (20%) did not undergo SLNB. A positive SLN was found in 161 of 412 patients (39.1%). For SLNB performed at the study institution, 14 patients with a negative SLNB developed disease recurrence in the mapped lymph node basin (false-negative rate, 12.3%). The median disease-specific survival (DSS), overall survival (OS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS) for the entire cohort were 62.1 months, 42.5 months, and 21.2 months, respectively. The DSS and OS for patients with a negative SLNB were 82.4 months and 53.4 months, respectively; 41.2 months and 34.7 months, respectively, for patients with positive SLNB; and 26.8 months and 22 months, respectively, for patients with clinically lymph node-positive disease (P<.0001). The median RFS was 32.4 months for patients who were SLNB negative, 14.3 months for patients who were SLNB positive, and 6.8 months for patients with clinically lymph node-positive disease (P<.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

With an acceptably low false-negative rate, patients with thick melanoma and a negative SLNB appear to have significantly prolonged RFS, DSS, and OS compared with those with a positive SLNB. Therefore, SLNB should be considered as indicated for patients with thick, clinically lymph node-negative melanoma.

Genetic variants in Hippo pathway genes YAP1, TEAD1 and TEAD4 are associated with melanoma-specific survival

Cutaneous melanoma (CM) is the most lethal form of skin cancers. The Hippo pathway controls cell migration, development and sizes of the organs in diverse species, and deregulation of this pathway may affect CM progression and prognosis. Therefore, we hypothesized that genetic variants of Hippo pathway genes might predict survival of CM patients. We used the genotyping data of 1,115 common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 12 pathway core genes (i.e., MST1, MST2, SAV1, LATS1, LATS2, MOB1A, MOB1B, YAP1, TEAD1, TEAD2, TEAD3 and TEAD4) from the dataset of our previously published CM genome-wide association study and comprehensively analyzed their associations with CM-specific survival (CSS) in 858 CM patients by using the Kaplan-Meier analyses and Cox proportional hazards regression models. We found a predictive role of YAP1 rs11225163 CC, TEAD1 rs7944031 AG+GG and TEAD4 rs1990330 CA+AA in the prognosis of CM. In addition, patients with an increasing number of unfavorable genotypes (NUG) had a markedly increased risk of death. After incorporating NUG in the model with clinical variables, the new model showed a significantly improved discriminatory ability to classify CSS (AUC increased from 82.03% to 84.56%). Our findings suggest that genetic variants of Hippo pathway genes, particularly YAP1 rs11225163, TEAD1 rs7944031 and TEAD4 rs1990330, may independently or jointly modulate survival of CM patients. Additional large, prospective studies are needed to validate these findings.

Imaging evaluation of lymphadenopathy and patterns of lymph node spread in head and neck cancer

Accurate and consistent characterization of metastatic cervical adenopathy is essential for the initial staging, treatment planning and surveillance of head and neck cancer patients. While enlarged superficial nodes may be clinically palpated, imaging allows identification of deeper adenopathy as well as clinically unsuspected pathology and thus imaging has become an integral part of the evaluation of most head and neck cancers patients. This review will focus on the evaluation of cervical adenopathy, summarizing the currently used nomenclature and imaging approach for determining cervical lymph node metastases in head and neck malignancies. The imaging-based classification, which has also been adopted by the American Joint Committee on Cancer, will be presented, the morphologic characteristics used to identify metastatic nodes will be reviewed and the typical nodal spread patterns of the major mucosal cancers of the head and neck will be examined.

Future perspectives in melanoma research: meeting report from the "Melanoma Bridge", Napoli, December 5th-8th 2013

The fourth "Melanoma Bridge Meeting" took place in Naples, December 5 to 8th, 2013. The four topics discussed at this meeting were: Diagnosis and New Procedures, Molecular Advances and Combination Therapies, News in Immunotherapy, and Tumor Microenvironment and Biomarkers.

Principles of surgical treatment of malignant melanoma

Although melanoma represents less than 5% of all skin cancers, it is responsible for the bulk of skin cancer-related deaths. Nevertheless, despite this aggressive reputation, most patients with cutaneous melanoma will be surgically cured of their disease. Early detection allows for curative resection, and 5-year survival for all stages of melanoma is 91%. This review outlines the surgical treatment of melanoma, including principles of wide local excision and management of the regional lymph nodes.

Outcome following sentinel node biopsy plus wide local excision versus wide local excision only for primary cutaneous melanoma: analysis of 5840 patients treated at a single institution

OBJECTIVE

Worldwide, sentinel node biopsy (SNB) is now a standard staging procedure for most patients with melanomas 1 mm or more in thickness, but its therapeutic benefit is not clear, pending randomized trial results. This study sought to assess the therapeutic benefit of SNB in a large, nonrandomized patient cohort.

METHODS

Patients with primary melanomas 1.00 mm or more thick or with adverse prognostic features treated with wide local excision (WLE) at a single institution between 1992 and 2008 were identified. The outcomes for those who underwent WLE plus SNB (n = 2909) were compared with the outcomes for patients in an observation (OBS) group who had WLE only (n = 2931). Median follow-up was 42 months.

RESULTS

Melanoma-specific survival (MSS) was not significantly different for patients in the SNB and OBS groups. However, a stratified univariate analysis of MSS for different thickness subgroups indicated a significantly better MSS for SNB patients with T2 and T3 melanomas (>1.0 to 4.0 mm thick) (P = 0.011), but this was not independently significant in multivariate analysis. Compared with OBS patients, SNB patients demonstrated improved disease-free survival (DFS) (P < 0.001) and regional recurrence-free survival (P < 0.001). There was also an improvement in distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) for SNB patients with T2 and T3 melanomas (P = 0.041).

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, the outcome for the overall cohort after WLE alone did not differ significantly from the outcome after additional SNB. However, the outcome for the subgroup of patients with melanomas more than 1.0 to 4.0 mm in thickness was improved if they had a SNB, with significantly improved disease-free and DMFS.

Indocyanine green SPY elite-assisted sentinel lymph node biopsy in cutaneous melanoma

BACKGROUND

Sentinel lymph node biopsy is the standard of care for intermediate-depth and high-risk thin melanomas. Recently, indocyanine green and near-infrared imaging have been used to aid in sentinel node biopsy. The present study aimed to determine the feasibility of sentinel lymph node biopsy with indocyanine green SPY Elite navigation and to critically evaluate the technique compared with the standard modalities.

METHODS

A retrospective review of 90 consecutive cutaneous melanoma patients who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy was performed. Two cohorts were formed: group A, which had sentinel lymph node biopsy performed with blue dye and radioisotope; and group B, which had sentinel lymph node biopsy performed with radioisotope and indocyanine green SPY Elite navigation. The cohorts were compared to assess for differences in localization rates, sensitivity and specificity of sentinel node identification, and length of surgery.

RESULTS

The sentinel lymph node localization rate was 79.4 percent using the blue dye method, 98.0 percent using the indocyanine green fluorescence method, and 97.8 percent using the radioisotope/handheld gamma probe method. Indocyanine green fluorescence detected more sentinel lymph nodes than the vital dye method alone (p = 0.020). A trend toward a reduction in length of surgery was noted in the SPY Elite cohort.

CONCLUSIONS

Sentinel lymph node mapping and localization in cutaneous melanoma with the indocyanine green SPY Elite navigation system is technically feasible and may offer several advantages over current modalities, including higher sensitivity and specificity, decreased number of lymph nodes sampled, decreased operative time, and potentially lower false-negative rates.

CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Diagnostic, II.

Increased frequency of minimal homozygous deletions is associated with poor prognosis in primary malignant melanoma patients

Identification of prognostic melanoma-associated copy number alterations (CNAs) is still an area of active research. Here, we investigated by high-resolution array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) a cohort of 31 paraffin-preserved primary malignant melanomas (MMs), whose prognosis was not predictable on the basis of conventional histopathological parameters. Although we identified a variety of highly recurrent sites of genomic lesions, the total number of CNAs per patient was not a discriminator of MM outcome. Furthermore, validation of aCGH by quantitative PCR on an extended population of 65 MM samples confirmed the absence of predictive value for the most recurrent CNA loci. Instead, our analysis revealed specific prognostic potential of the frequency of homozygous deletions (representing less than 3% of the total CNAs on average per sample), which was strongly associated with sentinel lymph node (SLN) invasion (P = 0.003), and distant metastasis (P = 0.003). Increased number of homozygous deletions was also indicative of poor patient survival (P = 0.01), both in our samples and in an independent validation of public dataset of primary and metastatic MMs. Moreover, we identified 77 hotspots of minimal common homozygous deletions, enriched in genes involved in cell adhesion processes and cell-communication functions, which preferentially accumulated in primary MMs showing the most severe outcome. Therefore, specific loss of gene loci in regions of minimal homozygous deletion may represent a pivotal type of genomic alteration accumulating during MM progression with potential prognostic implication.