Rate of false-negative findings in sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with head and neck malignant melanoma.

e17566 Background: Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (SLNB) is the standard procedure for malignant melanoma with a thicknes above 1mm. However, the benefits of this procedure have recently been questioned because of a high number of false negative findings. The aim of our study was to investigate the number of early recurrence in patients with negative SLNB. Methods: All patients with malignant melanoma of the head and neck region who underwent SLNB between 2010 and 2016 in our department were included and data reviewed retrospectively. Recurrence in the same cervical lymph node region of the previously extirpated sentinel lymph node (SLN) within one year was defined as primary false-negative. R…