BACKGROUND: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a molecular biology technique that can detect a single metastatic cell in 10(6) to 10(7) normal cells. Its use has been proposed as an additional new method for the detection of @entity320 nodal @entity3 in the sentinel lymph node (SLN) to improve the detection rate guaranteed so far by standard histology ( @entity1710 and @entity1711 ; H_E) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). METHODS: Since October 1995, 137 @entity1 with primary @entity320 ( @entity121 ,.75-4 mm) have undergone surgery for selective lymphadenectomy. To identify the SLNs, every @entity1 had preoperative lymphoscintigraphy and a vital dye perilesional injection, followed by a gamma probe-guided operation. RESULTS: In 134 @entity1 at least one SLN was detected, with a detection rate of 98%. Every SLN was examined by H_E and IHC (S-100 antigen and HMB-45 protein). The messenger RNA codifying for @entity11442 and MART-1 ( @entity320 antigen recognized by T cells) was used as the target sequence for the reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR. The results showed 11% positive SLNs with IHC and H_E examination and 63% with RT-PCR. No recurrence was noted at follow-up in the group with RT-PCR-negative nodes (absence of false-negative cases). CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, RT-PCR SLN negativity is achieving a very favorable prognostic significance. However, RT-PCR positivity is still to be evaluated. Furthermore, results obtained with this method have been shown so far to be independent of Breslow's @entity5 thickness.

Prognostic significance of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction-negative sentinel nodes in XXXX .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'patient'] @entity5 :: ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') :: ['tumor'] @entity1711 :: ('MESH:D004801', 'Chemical') :: ['eosin'] @entity1710 :: ('MESH:D006416', 'Chemical') :: ['hematoxylin'] @entity3 :: ('MESH:D009362', 'Disease') :: ['metastases'] @entity11442 :: ('7299', 'Gene') :: ['tyrosinase'] @entity121 :: ('MESH:D009135', 'Disease') :: ['Breslow thickness'] @entity320 :: ('MESH:D008545', 'Disease') :: ['melanoma', 'cutaneous melanoma', 'malignant melanoma']
@entity320 :: (MESH:D008545,Disease) :: ['malignant melanoma']
