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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: Cancer. 2021 Apr 7;127(13):2251–2261. doi: 10.1002/cncr.33483

TABLE 4.

Multivariable Analysis of Patient, Tumor, and Treatment Factors Associated With Isolated Nodal Basin Recurrence-Free Survival (RFS) and All-Site RFS in Adult Patients With Cutaneous Melanoma and Positive Sentinel Lymph Nodesa

Isolated Nodal Basin RFS
All-Site RFS
Variable HR [95% CI] P HR [95% CI] P
No. of recurrence events (% of total cohort) 68 (6) 220 (19)
Age per 1-y increase 1.01 [0.99-1.03] .41 1.00 [0.99-1.01] .69
AJCC8 stage NA <.01c
 IIIA NAb Ref
 IIIB 1.82 [1.08-3.06]c
 IIIC 3.38 [2.19-5.23]c
 IIID 4.88 [2.07-11.49]c
Tumor location .64 .03c
 Lower extremity Ref Ref
 Upper extremity 1.21 [0.54-2.73] 1.32 [0.84-2.09]
 Trunk 1.43 [0.73-2.82] 1.16 [0.79-1.70]
 Head/neck 0.90 [0.34-2.36] 1.88 [1.21-2.93]c
No. positive nodes .67 .60
 1 Ref Ref
 2-3 1.01 [0.53-1.95] 1.20 [0.85-1.69]
 ≥4 1.96 [0.44-8.66] 1.14 [0.53-2.46]
Extranodal extension .26 .52
 Absent Ref Ref
 Present 1.67 [0.69-4.07] 1.17 [0.70-1.94]
Size of SLN metastasis per 1-mm increase 1.07 [1.02-1.12]c <.01c 1.11 [1.06-1.17]c <.01c
 Interaction between size of SLN metastasis and follow-up time NAd NA 0.99 [0.98-1.00] .03c
CLND .02c .07
 No Ref Ref
 Yes 0.36 [0.15-0.88]c 0.68 [0.45-1.02]
Adjuvant systemic therapy
 Receipt at any time 0.77 [0.43-1.37] .38 NAe NA
 Risk per mo of follow-up: Interaction between adjuvant systemic therapy and time NAe NA 0.52 [0.47-0.57]c <.01c

Abbreviations: AJCC8, American Joint Committee on Cancer, eighth edition; CLND, completion lymph node dissection; HR, hazard ratio; NA, not applicable; Ref, reference category; SLN, sentinel lymph node.

a

Cox proportional hazard models were performed for outcomes of isolated nodal basin RFS and all-site RFS and were adjusted for the variables listed.

b

AJCC8 stage was not included in the isolated nodal basin RFS model because of the lack of a univariate association with the outcome and failure to meet proportionality of hazards assumptions.

c

Values denote statistically significant findings; values <1.00 were associated with decreased recurrence, and values >1.00 were associated with increased recurrence.

d

Values indicate the interaction term for the size of SLN metastasis and the time required for all-site RFS outcome caused by the nonproportionality of hazards.

e

The association of adjuvant systemic therapy with all-site RFS is reported with an interaction term for time dependence because of the nonproportionality of hazards.