Accuracy of the non-sentinel node risk score (N-SNORE) in patients with cutaneous melanoma and positive sentinel lymph nodes: A retrospective study

Sentinel node (SLN) biopsy in patients with melanoma permits identification of those at risk for further metastases in non-sentinel lymph nodes (NSLN). However, a mere 20% of SLN-positive patients have metastases in NSLN. Therefore we need criteria to predict NSLN-positivity. A new score system known as the non-sentinel risk score, (N-SNORE) based on five clinical and pathological characteristics (gender, regression in primary melanoma, proportion of SNs containing melanoma, perinodal lymphatic invasion, and SN tumor burden), was first published in 2010. In this study, the accuracy of N-SNORE was validated in melanoma patients with positive SLN.