• Yingyi Zhang, Chuanqi Liu, Zihuai Wang, Guonian Zhu, Yange Zhang, Yuyang Xu, and Xuewen Xu.
• Department of Aesthetic Plastic and Burn Surgery.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2021 Feb 5; 100 (5): e24284e24284.

BackgroundHead and neck melanomas (HNMs) behave differently from cutaneous melanomas in other sites, and the efficacy of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for patients with HNMs remains controversial.MethodsStudies on prognosis following SLNB were included. The prognostic role of SLNB and other potential predictors were analyzed using pooled relative risk (RR) or hazard ratio (HR).ResultsPooled statistics showed that SLNB improved overall survival of HNMs patients (HR = 0.845; 95% CI: 0.725-0.986; P = .032). The positive status of SN was proved as a risk factor of poor prognosis in HNMs (HR = 3.416; 95% CI: 1.939-6.021; P < .001). SLNB did not have significant correlation with lower recurrences (RR = .794; 95% CI: 0.607-1.038; P = .091).ConclusionsSLNB is associated with better overall survival and the SN status is a promising risk factor of poor prognosis for HNMs patients.Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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