Implications of wait times for sentinel node biopsy on melanoma disease progression, micrometastatic tumour burden and survival outcomes in the modern treatment era
Sofia O Breeze, Martin J Heaton, Andrew P Snelling, Jennifer J Garioch, Jenny P Nobes, Marc D Moncrieff · 2026
Read Implications of wait times for sentinel node biopsy on melanoma disease progression, micrometastatic tumour burden and survival outcomes in the modern treatment era by Sofia O Breeze, Martin J Heaton, Andrew P Snelling, Jennifer J Garioch, Jenny P Nobes, Marc D Moncrieff (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/PMC13534719.txt.
Description
Sofia O Breeze and colleagues study in 2026 whether waiting longer for sentinel node biopsy harms melanoma patients in the modern treatment era. The biopsy stages disease and guides referral for added drug therapy, yet delay effects were disputed. A UK centre cohort held 1,625 patients listed from 2010 to 2023.
Late surgery beyond 90 days linked to more spread before surgery and larger hidden tumour deposits. After 2016, longer waits also linked to worse disease-specific survival. Threshold analysis favoured biopsy within 68 days of diagnosis and 82 days of removal surgery. Service leaders can use the thresholds to audit local waiting lists and protect timely access.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Sofia O Breeze, Martin J Heaton, Andrew P Snelling, Jennifer J Garioch, Jenny P Nobes, Marc D Moncrieff |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 29529 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |