Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Melanoma

MSLT-1—putting sentinel lymph node biopsy into context

Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology volume 11, pages 246–248 (2014)Cite this article

Subjects

The MSLT-1 study compared sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) with nodal observation in patients with localized cutaneous melanoma. The final results of the trial—conducted from 1994 to 2002—strongly support using SLNB in staging patients with melanomas ≥1.0 mm in thickness, but the optimal staging approach for thinner melanomas is unanswered.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Morton, D. L. et al. Technical details of intraoperative lymphatic mapping for early stage melanoma. Arch. Surg. 127, 392–399 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Thomas, J. M. Prognostic false-positivity of the sentinel node in melanoma. Nat. Clin. Pract. Oncol. 5, 18–23 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. McMasters, K. M. et al. Lessons learned from the Sunbelt Melanoma Trial. J. Surg. Oncol. 86, 212–223 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Morton, D. L. et al. Sentinel-node biopsy or nodal observation in melanoma. N. Engl. J. Med. 355, 1307–1317 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Morton, D. L. et al. Final report of sentinel-node biopsy versus nodal observation in melanoma. N. Engl. J. Med. 370, 599–609 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Faries, M. B. et al. The impact on morbidity and length of stay of early versus delayed complete lymphadenectomy in melanoma: results of the Multicenter Selective Lymphadenectomy Trial (I). Ann. Surg. Oncol. 17, 3324–3329 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Balch, C. M. The role of elective lymph node dissection in melanoma: rationale, results, and controversies. J. Clin. Oncol. 6, 163–172 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Han, D. et al. Clinicopathologic predictors of sentinel lymph node metastasis in thin melanoma. J. Clin. Oncol. 31, 4387–4393 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Gershenwald, J. E., Coit, D. G., Sondak, V. K. & Thompson, J. F. The challenge of defining guidelines for sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with thin primary cutaneous melanomas. Ann. Surg. Oncol. 19, 3301–3303 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Wong, S. L. et al. Sentinel lymph node biopsy for melanoma: American Society of Clinical Oncology and Society of Surgical Oncology joint clinical practice guideline. J. Clin. Oncol. 30, 2912–2918 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cutaneous Oncology, and Departments of Oncologic Sciences and Surgery, Moffitt Cancer Center, University of South Florida, Morsani College of Medicine, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, 33612, FL, USA

    Vernon K. Sondak & Jonathan S. Zager

Authors
  1. Vernon K. Sondak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jonathan S. Zager
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vernon K. Sondak.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

V.K.S. is a consultant for Bristol–Myers Squibb, Glaxo Smith-Kline, Merck, Navidea, Novartis and Provectus. J.S.Z. is a consultant for Amgen and Delcath Systems.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sondak, V., Zager, J. MSLT-1—putting sentinel lymph node biopsy into context. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 11, 246–248 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2014.66

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2014.66

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing