Can SPET/CT Technique Improve the Sentinel Lymph Node Radio- Guided Research in Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma?

Background: the aim of the study is to define the role of SPET/CT in radio-guided sentinel lymph node surgery identification in cutaneous Malignant Melanoma (MM) and to assess if SPET/CT data can modify surgery time. Materials and Methods: 96 patients with MM (58 men and 38 women, mean age of 44 years, range 14-71 years) were divided into two groups. 66 patients (group I) were submitted to sentinel node (SN) research by planar lymphoscintigraphy; 30 patients (group II) performed both planar and SPET/CT lymphoscintigraphy. SN surgery identification percentage, SN anatomical site identification and surgery times were evaluated in each group. Results: Group II presented a percentage of SN surgery identification, both globally (96.5%) and in specific sites (axilla lymph nodes 94.5%; upon clavicle lymph nodes 100%), better than group I. Furthermore surgery time was shorter in the group II (10’-20’). Conclusions: SPET/CT allows a more accurate SN identification than planar lymphoscintigraphy, especially in axillar and upon-clavicular nodes and contributes to a correct staging of cutaneous MM. It can improve surgery success percentage and shortens surgery time, reducing also surgery team irradiation.