Table 5.
Multivariate analysis of selected factors influencing disease-free survival in CLND patients (with regional lymph node metastases detected by sentinel lymph node biopsy followed by completion lymph node dissection) [model I, without results of lymph MM RT-PCR; model 2, including results of lymph MM RT-PCR)
| Variable | Model 1 (N = 321) | Model 2 (N = 137) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P value | HR | HR 95% CI | P value | HR | HR 95% CI | |
| Gender | ||||||
| Male vs. female | .040 | 0.685 | 0.478–0.983 | |||
| Primary melanoma Breslow thickness (mm) | ||||||
| 1.01–2.0 | .292 | 2.301 | 0.906–5.844 | |||
| 2.01–4.0 | .46 | 0.562 | 0.229–1.383 | |||
| >4.0 | .855 | 0.636 | 0.405–0.997 | |||
| Primary melanoma level of invasion according to Clark | ||||||
| Clark III | .216 | 0.645 | 0.286–1.457 | |||
| Clark IV | .574 | 1.354 | 0.606–3.024 | |||
| Clark V | .871 | 0.922 | 0.388–2.194 | |||
| Ulceration of melanoma | ||||||
| Present vs. absent | .003 | 1.955 | 1.258–3.039 | .006 | 0.429 | 0.234–0.786 |
| Maximal diameter of metastases to sentinel node | ||||||
| >1.0 mm vs. 0.1–1.0 mm | .032 | 1.073 | 1.006–1.144 | |||
| Number of lymph nodes with metastases | ||||||
| 2–3 | .101 | 1.376 | 0.940–2.016 | .006 | 0.322 | 0.143–0.723 |
| ≥4 | <.001 | 3.191 | 1.806–5.641 | .031 | 0.426 | 0.196–0.926 |
| Lymph MM RT-PCR assay result | ||||||
| Positive vs. negative | .005 | 0.449 | 0.256–0.787 | |||