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ABSTRACT: Background
The sentinel lymph node (SLN) status is a vital prognostic factor for malignant melanoma (MM) patients. There is increasing evidence that a radioactive agent, rather than its combination with blue dye, is sufficient for a SLN biopsy (SLNB). Thus, we discussed the efficacy of 99mTc-rituximab as a tracer in MM patients.Methods
A total of 502 consecutive patients with MM who underwent SLNB were enrolled in this study. All participants were peritumorally injected with 99mTc-rituximab before imaging, and scanned with single-photon emission computed tomography-computed tomography (SPECT-CT) to detect the number and location of the SLN. A gamma detection probe was employed to detect radioactive SLNs in operation. Follow up was conducted to observe whether nodal or distant recurrence occurred.Results
The SLNs were successfully imaged via SPECT-CT and harvested from all 502 participants. No drainage tube was indwelled and 32 (6.3%) participants experienced the following complications: seroma (n=26, 5.2%), wound infections or lymphangitis (n=6, 1.2%), sensory nerve injuries (n=4, 0.8%). There were 380 patients who were diagnosed as SLN-negative and 122 (24.2%) were SLN-positive. A total of 85 SLN-positive patients received complete lymph node dissection, and 28 (32.9%) had additional positive lymph nodes. During a median follow-up of 24 months, 28 participants were found to have a false negative (FN) SLN. The FN rate was 18.7%. A higher T stage was a predictive factor for FN [odds ratio (OR) 1.77; P<0.05]. There was no significant difference in the positive or FN rate between the acral and cutaneous groups.Conclusions
The radiopharmaceutical 99mTc-rituximab could be employed as a simple and safe tracer in acral and cutaneous melanoma SLN biopsies.
SUBMITTER: Liu J
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8848438 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Liu Jiayong J Tan Zhichao Z Xue Ruifeng R Fan Zhengfu Z Bai Chujie C Li Shu S Gao Tian T Zhang Lu L Fang Zhiwei Z Si Lu L
Annals of translational medicine 20220101 2
<h4>Background</h4>The sentinel lymph node (SLN) status is a vital prognostic factor for malignant melanoma (MM) patients. There is increasing evidence that a radioactive agent, rather than its combination with blue dye, is sufficient for a SLN biopsy (SLNB). Thus, we discussed the efficacy of <sup>99m</sup>Tc-rituximab as a tracer in MM patients.<h4>Methods</h4>A total of 502 consecutive patients with MM who underwent SLNB were enrolled in this study. All participants were peritumorally injecte ...[more]