Letter in reply: increase of sentinel lymph node melanoma staging in The Netherlands; still room and need for further improvement

摘要

The proportion of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB)-staged melanoma patients increased in The Netherlands, according to The Netherlands Cancer Registry, from 24% (2004) to 55% (2011) to 65% (2016) [1–3]. It is important to note that very large regional differences were observed in The Netherlands, 74% SLNBs in the northeast of The Netherlands compared with 56% in the rest of The Netherlands (p < 0.01). It is remarkable to see that in 2015 and 2016 no further increase was seen in SLNB staging in the northeast of The Netherlands, in contrast to the rest of The Netherlands [3].