Abstract Background Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is recommended for patients with >10% risk of metastasis and not for those with 10% sentinel node positivity risk groups using the MIA model. Demographic and pathologic characteristics were examined. Results Of 58,119 patients with thin melanomas, 43,551 met inclusion criteria after excluding 14,491 with intermediate (5–10%) risk. Among 3949 with >10% risk, 62.9% had SLNB and 37.1% had SLNB omitted. Conversely, among 39,602 with 10% group. Conclusions Before and after MIA model publication, SLNB was underutilized in high-risk patients and overutilized in low-risk patients. Utilization was primarily driven by tumor-specific factors. Our findings suggest limited early adoption of the model and highlight the need for improved dissemination of personalized risk stratification tools.
Mayhew et al. (Fri,) studied this question.