Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLBN) is essential in staging melanoma and properly selecting patients for adjuvant immunotherapy. However, surgically induced inflammation can potentially aid in progression of remaining malignant cells and affect prognosis. The inflammatory marker neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is also a negative prognostic and predictive marker in serval malignancies, among melanoma. However, it is not yet established if SLNB induces a systemic inflammatory response.
We want to test if an association between sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLBN) and a systemic inflammatory response can be made.