Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30816996›Full record

Observational studyThe British journal of surgery2019

Prospective cohort study of ultrasound surveillance of regional lymph nodes in patients with intermediate-risk cutaneous melanoma.

A J Hayes, E Moskovic, K O'Meara, H G Smith, R J E Pope, J Larkin, J M Thomas

Open access · hybridAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in The British journal of surgery, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

A J HayesSkin Cancer Unit, Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
E MoskovicDepartment of Radiology, Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
K O'MearaSkin Cancer Unit, Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
H G SmithSkin Cancer Unit, Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-4218-4648
R J E PopeDepartment of Radiology, Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
J LarkinSkin Cancer Unit, Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
J M ThomasSkin Cancer Unit, Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFor patients with intermediate-thickness melanoma, surveillance of regional lymph node basins by clinical examination alone has been reported to result in a larger number of lymph nodes involved by melanoma than if patients had initial sentinel node biopsy and completion dissection. This may result in worse regional control. A prospective study of both regular clinical examination and ultrasound surveillance was conducted to assess the effectiveness of these modalities.

methodsBetween 2010 and 2014, patients with melanoma of thickness 1·2-3·5 mm who had under-gone wide local excision but not sentinel node biopsy were recruited to a prospective observational study of regular clinical and ultrasound nodal surveillance. The primary endpoint was nodal burden within a dissected regional lymph node basin. Secondary endpoints included locoregional or distant relapse, progression-free and overall survival.

resultsNinety patients were included in the study. After a median follow-up of 52 months, ten patients had developed nodal relapse as first recurrence, four had locoregional disease outside of an anatomical nodal basin as the first site of relapse and six had relapse with distant disease. None of the patients who developed relapse within a nodal basin presented with unresectable nodal disease. The median number of involved lymph nodes in patients undergoing lymphadenectomy for nodal relapse was 1 (range 1-2; mean 1·2).

conclusionThis study suggests that ultrasound surveillance of regional lymph node basins is safe for patients with melanoma who undergo a policy of nodal surveillance.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansLymphatic MetastasisLymph Node ExcisionLymph NodesMaleMelanomaMiddle AgedNeoplasm Recurrence, LocalPostoperative CareProspective StudiesSkin Neoplasms

Identifiers

PMID30816996
PMCPMC6593779
OpenAlexW2918602000

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.