{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T16:48:39Z","timestamp":1788281319156,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,17]],"date-time":"2026-01-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768608000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Head and neck (H&amp;N) cutaneous melanomas have poorer outcomes than melanomas at other sites, yet sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB)\u2014a key prognostic tool in clinically node-negative disease\u2014is less frequently performed, particularly outside tertiary centers. We evaluated the feasibility and prognostic relevance of SLNB in a medium-volume regional institution. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients with primary H&amp;N cutaneous melanoma who underwent SLNB at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Szeged, between 2010 and 2022. Clinicopathological features, nodal outcomes, recurrence patterns, recurrence-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS) were analyzed using Kaplan\u2013Meier methods and univariate Cox regression. Results: Thirty-eight patients underwent SLNB, with a 100% sentinel lymph node identification rate and no major complications. Positive sentinel lymph nodes were identified in 8 patients (21.1%). Two false-negative events occurred, resulting in a false-omission rate of 6.7% and a negative predictive value of 93.3%. SLN-negative patients demonstrated longer RFS and OS, although differences were not statistically significant. Among patients with intermediate-risk melanoma (pT1b\u2013pT3a), 18.5% had a positive SLN. Conclusions: SLNB is a safe and clinically meaningful staging procedure for H&amp;N melanoma in a medium-volume regional center. Sentinel node status provides important prognostic information and supports appropriate patient selection for contemporary adjuvant therapy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15020763","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,20]],"date-time":"2026-01-20T08:36:33Z","timestamp":1768898193000},"page":"763","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Sentinel Node Biopsy for Head and Neck Melanoma: A 12-Year Experience from a Medium-Volume Regional Center"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8437-4370","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"P\u00e9ter","family":"L\u00e1z\u00e1r","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral- and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6534-1434","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Krist\u00f3f","family":"Boa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral- and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"No\u00e9mi","family":"Mez\u0151laki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8537-6282","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zolt\u00e1n","family":"Varga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oncotherapy, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zsuzsanna","family":"Besenyi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Erika","family":"Varga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Istv\u00e1n Bal\u00e1zs","family":"N\u00e9meth","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0357-7393","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eszter","family":"Balt\u00e1s","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Judit","family":"Ol\u00e1h","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oncotherapy, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8305-7656","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Erika Gabriella","family":"Kis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"J\u00f3zsef","family":"Piffk\u00f3","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral- and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"R\u00f3bert","family":"Paczona","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral- and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1284","DOI":"10.1002\/hed.20875","article-title":"Sentinel node biopsy in patients with cutaneous melanoma of the head and neck: Recurrence and survival study","volume":"30","author":"Santillan","year":"2008","journal-title":"Head Neck"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"659","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amjsurg.2011.06.048","article-title":"Prognostic implications of anatomic location of primary cutaneous melanoma of 1 mm or thicker","volume":"202","author":"Callender","year":"2011","journal-title":"Am. 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