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CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, Vol 15, 168-174, Copyright © 1965 by American Cancer Society

ROUTES OF LYMPHATIC SPREAD OF MALIGNANT MELANOMA

¹ Attending Surgeon and Chief, Gastric and Mixed Tumor Services, Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Diseases, New York City.
² Senior Resident Surgeon, Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases.

The anticipated route as well as the incidence of metastasis to regional lymph nodes from melanoma arising anywhere on the skin of the trunk and extremities have been presented. The more likely avenue of lymphatic spread from primary sites so located as to have the potential of spreading to more than one regional drainage system is described. Surgical dissection of the regional lymph nodes, whether clinically positive or negative, is indicated in all instances of melanoma as an integral part of the first definitive treatment. Support of this concept is gained from the observation that about 25% of clinically negative nodes do in fact contain histological evidence of metastasis. The 5-year survival in these patients is 52.6% as compared to 10.0% in those observed to have clinically positive nodes.