Auricular malignant melanoma of early childhood: the role of sentinel node biopsy

Evaluation of 39 cases of pediatric cutaneous head and neck melanoma

“…12 SLN biopsy has been used to facilitate staging in adults for almost two decades, 13,14 whereas reports of SLN biopsy in pediatric melanoma of the head or neck are rare. SLN biopsy is based on the assumption that cutaneous melanoma drains in an orderly sequence from 1 to 3 nodes first (the SLNs), although drainage patterns of the H&N may be more complex and variable than extremity sites.…”

Pediatric Melanoma of the Head and Neck: A Single Institutions Experience

“…As a result of the higher positive rate, this seems a reasonable approach to evaluate for the presence of regional metastases 9 . Furthermore, in cases in which the pathologic diagnosis is unclear or the depth of invasion is uncertain, like in the case of a shave biopsy, sentinel lymph node biopsy is recommended 7 . In the case of positive nodal metastases, a completion neck dissection should be done for treatment to ensure removal of other nodes that may harbor disease 15 .…”

“…More investigations in this area need to be done to further delineate their effect on survival. A previous article from our institution identified two cases of pediatric melanoma of the head and neck treated with sentinel lymph node biopsy 7 . Since then, we have identified 4 other cases of pediatric melanoma, all within the past 7 years.…”

A systematic review on external ear melanoma

“…Several authors support the idea that these patterns are highly unpredictable, 4,6,14,15,20,21,25,27,29 but only a few studies focus on the lymphoscintigraphy and the drainage patterns of the external ear. Nine studies report information about the regional lymph nodes, 4,6,9,14,16,20,24,25,29 but only four of them describe the exact location of the identified sentinel node according to Robbins' topographic classification 31 of the cervical node levels. 6,9,14,16 These studies confirm that the drainage pattern of the external ear is variable and unpredictable; in Peach et al's series of 111 lymphoscintigraphy, lymphatic drainage occurred in a retrograde, antegrade, or transaural pattern, although never contralaterally.…”

“…Nine studies report information about the regional lymph nodes, 4,6,9,14,16,20,24,25,29 but only four of them describe the exact location of the identified sentinel node according to Robbins' topographic classification 31 of the cervical node levels. 6,9,14,16 These studies confirm that the drainage pattern of the external ear is variable and unpredictable; in Peach et al's series of 111 lymphoscintigraphy, lymphatic drainage occurred in a retrograde, antegrade, or transaural pattern, although never contralaterally. 14 Despite the great variability, identification of the SLN is possible in >90% of cases.…”