@article { author = {Salari, Abolfazl and Nili, Fatemeh and Jalaeefar, Amir Mohsen and Shirkhoda, Mohammad}, title = {Lymph Node Ratio: Is It an Independent Prognostic Factor for Stage III Cutaneous Melanoma?}, journal = {Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention}, volume = {19}, number = {12}, pages = {3623-3627}, year = {2018}, publisher = {West Asia Organization for Cancer Prevention (WAOCP), APOCP's West Asia Chapter.}, issn = {1513-7368}, eissn = {2476-762X}, doi = {10.31557/APJCP.2018.19.12.3623}, abstract = {Objective: Lymph node ratio (LNR) is defined as the ratio of the number of metastatic lymph nodes to the dissectedlymph nodes. LNR is a prognostic factor for many tumor types. The present study aimed to evaluate the prognosticvalue of LNR in melanoma. Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted on 123 patients with stage IIIcutaneous melanoma. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate the correlations between LNRand other clinicopathological factors associated with survival. The patients were divided into four groups in terms ofthe LNR, including groups A (LNR≤0.18), B (0.180.625). Results:Initially, LNR was evaluated as a continuous quantity associated with survival. In the univariate analysis, a significantcorrelation was observed between LNR, overall survival (OS), and disease free survival (DFS). Meanwhile, the onlyassociation observed in the multivariate analysis was between LNR and OS. Increased LNR from group A to group Dreduced OS from 46 (±44.09) to 22.5 (±16.33) months (P=0.022). According to the multivariate analysis, prognosticfactors in OS were tumor thickness, American joint committee of cancer (AJCC) N stage, interferon administration,and undergoing chemotherapy. Conclusion: According to the results, LNR could be used as an independent prognosticfactor for estimating the survival of patients with stage III cutaneous melanoma also designing an effective adjuvanttreatment protocol for these patients.}, keywords = {cutaneous melanoma,lymph node ratio,lymph node dissection}, url = {https://journal.waocp.org/article_77051.html}, eprint = {https://journal.waocp.org/article_77051_f1d89d53333d830e77930152ebb71521.pdf} }