Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40900446›Full record

ArticleJournal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV2026

A deep learning-clinical nomogram hybrid for predicting sentinel lymph node metastasis in melanoma.

Minh-Khang Le, Masataka Kawai, Tetsuo Kondo, Takashi Inozume, Yoshinori Muto, Youichi Ogawa, Shinji Shimada, Takashi Okamoto, Tatsuyoshi Kawamura

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Precision medicine in cutaneous melanoma-A comprehensive review.Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV · 2026
    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

9 authors.

Minh-Khang LeDepartment of Pathology, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan.
Masataka KawaiDepartment of Pathology, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan.
Tetsuo KondoDepartment of Pathology, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan.
Takashi InozumeDepartment of Dermatology, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7054-1863
Yoshinori MutoDepartment of Dermatology, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan.
Youichi OgawaDepartment of Dermatology, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan.
Shinji ShimadaDepartment of Dermatology, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan.
Takashi OkamotoDepartment of Dermatology, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1228-603X
Tatsuyoshi KawamuraDepartment of Dermatology, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan.

Funding

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 23K14473New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization JPNP20006
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMelanoma is a life-threatening skin malignancy, with sentinel lymph node metastasis (SLNM) serving as a critical prognostic factor. While machine and deep learning models using histopathology have focused on melanoma diagnosis, limited efforts have aimed to predict SLNM.

objectivesThis study aimed to develop a collaborative machine and deep learning model that integrates histopathological patches and clinical data to predict SLNM in patients with invasive melanoma, thereby aiding decision-making regarding sentinel lymph node biopsy.

methodsA total of 78 invasive cutaneous melanoma cases (43 SLNM-positive and 35 SLNM-negative) from the University of Yamanashi Hospital (2007-2022) were divided into training (n = 60) and test (n = 18) datasets. A clustering-constrained attention multiple-instance learning (CLAM) model was developed using haematoxylin and eosin-stained whole-slide images. Among the four CLAM variants, the model using a ResNet50trunc encoder trained on whole-tissue regions (CLAM-R50) demonstrated the best performance and was further integrated with a clinical nomogram. Hybrid modelling was performed using logistic regression, a support vector machine and gradient boosting.

resultsCLAM-R50 achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.875, while the clinical nomogram achieved an AUROC of 0.826 on the test set. The gradient boosting hybrid model, termed the Melanoma Indicative Scorer for Sentinel Lymph node Evaluation (MISSLE), demonstrated the highest AUROC of 0.950 (95% bootstrapped confidence interval (CI): 0.933-1.00) on the test set. CLAM-R50 attention maps identified pale cytoplasm and plasma cell-like tumour cells as predictors of positive SLNM, whereas dense melanin deposition and lymphocyte-like tumour cells predicted negative SLNM.

conclusionsMISSLE integrates histopathological and clinical data to predict SLNM with high AUROC, surpassing the previous reports and offering a tool for clinical decision-making. Limitations include the single-centre design and predominantly Japanese cohort, limiting generalizability. The code and models are publicly available for external validation.

Indexed as

Deep LearningMelanomaNomogramsSentinel Lymph NodeSkin NeoplasmsAdultAgedFemaleHumansLymphatic MetastasisMaleMiddle AgedSentinel Lymph Node Biopsyartificial intelligenceCLAMdeep learningmelanomamultiple instance learningsentinel lymph node

Identifiers

PMID40900446
PMCPMC13109753

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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.