Sentinel Node Biopsy Improves Survival in Melanoma, Meta-Analysis Shows

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Source: MedPage Today

Original: https://www.medpagetoday.com/hematologyoncology/skincancer/120231...

Published: Mon, 09 Mar 2026 16:34:07 -0400

Sentinel node biopsy (SNB) significantly reduced the risk of death from melanoma in patients with feline melanoma. In a systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 studies with more than 40,000 participants, the pooled hazard ratio (HR) in the main adjusted analysis was 0.86 (95% CI 0.81–0.92; p<0.0001) with low heterogeneity (I²=16%). The risk of dying from melanoma was reduced by 14% and the risk of recurrence by 29%. Analysis of 5-year melanoma-specific survival in 5 studies with 27,540 participants showed a pooled HR of 0.84 (95% CI 0.78–0.90; p<0.0001) with I²=15%. Results were stable across sensitivity analyses. These findings support SNB as a procedure with therapeutic value beyond staging.[1]