Variability of Sentinel Lymph Node Location in Patients with Trunk Melanoma

Abstract

(1) Background: Melanoma is one of the most aggressive types of neoplasia, and the management of this pathology requires a correct staging, as well as a personalized modern oncological treatment. The main objective of the study is to determine the variability of the lymphatic drainage for patients with melanomas located on the trunk and, secondarily, to determine the features of individuals who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) depending on the exact location on the trunk. (2) Methods: This retrospective, observational, single-center study included 62 cases of trunk melanoma operated between July 2019 and March 2023, in which SLNB was performed and a total of 84 lymph nodes were excised. (3) Results: Patients had a median age of 54.5 (33–78) years, with 58.1% being male; the melanomas had a median Breslow index of 2.3 (0.5–12.5) mm. Approximately 64.3% of the cohort had melanoma on the upper part of the trunk (54 cases) and 35.7% had it on the lower part (30 cases). The type of anesthesia chosen was general anesthesia in 53 cases and spinal anesthesia in 9 cases (85.5% vs. 14.5%, p < 0.001). The number of sentinel lymph nodes excised was 54 for melanomas located on the upper part of the trunk (8 cervical and 46 axillary) and 30 sentinel lymph nodes for melanomas of the lower part of the trunk (16 at the axillary level and 14 at the inguinal level). Out of the 54 LNs identified in patients with melanoma on the upper part of the trunk, 13 were positive, with a total of 12 positive lymph nodes (LNs) from the axillar basin, and only one from the cervical region. Additionally, the incidence of patients with a minimum of two identified sentinel lymph nodes was 32.2%, with a total of seven having LN involvement in two basins, and only one of these cases showed positivity for malignancy. (4) Conclusions: SLNBs were more frequent in the axillary region overall, and had more positive SLNs. Moreover, melanoma on the upper part of the trunk had a higher rate of positive SLNs compared to the lower part. Tumors located on the lower part of the truck had more positive SLNs in the axillary region than in the inguinal one.