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Efficacy of ultrasound B-scan compared with physical examination in follow-up of melanoma patients

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BACKGROUND The value of ultrasound B-scan for routine follow-up of melanoma patients still is not generally accepted. Therefore, the authors compared the efficacy of physical examination (PE) with ultrasound B-scan (UBS) for detection of regional tumor recurrence in melanoma patients. The aim of the current study was to evaluate whether early detection of metastases improves relapse-free and overall survival. METHODS For a period of 4 years, 829 consecutive melanoma patients were followed prospectively. Physical examination of 3011 patients and concomitant UBS of in-transit routes and regional lymph node basins were performed. Suspicious lesions were diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration cytology and pathology. RESULTS During the study period, 242 (90.6%) of 267 patients with melanoma recurrences were first recognized by PE or UBS within the routine follow-up program. The sensitivities of both methods differed significantly (P = 0.001). Metastases were detected by PE in only 61 of 242 recurrences (25.2%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 19.9–31.2%), whereas UBS revealed 240 recurrences (99.2%, 95% CI: 97.3–99.6%). The specificity was 98.4% (95% CI: 97.8–98.8%) and 98.3% (95% CI: 97.7–98.7%), respectively. Survival of 103 patients who presented with a first nodal melanoma recurrence was followed and analyzed by multiple Cox regression. Overall survival was affected by the diameter of the largest metastasis (P = 0.001) and the number of metastatic lesions (P = 0.012). CONCLUSION The study found that ultrasound B-scan was highly effective in the early detection of regional melanoma metastases compared with physical examination. Earlier detection of such metastases seemed to result in improved overall survival. Cancer 2001;91:2409–16. © 2001 American Cancer Society.