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Prognostic value and therapeutic implications of nodal involvement in head and neck mucosal melanoma.

BACKGROUND
The prognostic significance of nodal involvement is not well established in head and neck mucosal melanoma (HNMM).


METHODS
A retrospective, monocentric study was performed on 96 patients with HNMM treated between 2000 and 2017.


RESULTS
At diagnosis, seventeen patients (17.8%) were cN1, with a higher risk for HNMM arising from the oral cavity (p = 0.01). cN status had no prognostic value in patients with nonmetastatic resectable HNMM. No occult nodal metastasis was observed in the cN0 patients after a nodal dissection (ND). The nodal recurrence rate was similar in the cN1 and the cN0 patients. No isolated nodal recurrences were noted. Among the patients who underwent a ND, no benefit of this procedure was noted.


CONCLUSIONS
cN1 status is not a prognostic factor in patients with resectable HNMM. Elective ND should not be systematically performed in cN0 HNMM.