Plastic surgeon Aris Damagas delivered a presentation on “Melanoma and the Importance of the Sentinel Lymph Node” at the conference “Changing the Therapeutic Landscape Against Cancer,” held on March 10-11, 2023, at the Divani Caravel Hotel in Athens.

The sentinel lymph node is defined as the first lymph node to which cancer cells may spread from a primary tumor, meaning it is the first to receive lymphatic drainage from the tumor. The importance of the sentinel lymph node was first described by American Surgical Oncologist Donald Morton (1934-2014) in relation to melanoma. Using extensive visual material and a thorough review of modern literature, Dr. Damagas highlighted the valuable prognostic information provided by sentinel lymph node analysis in melanoma treatment. He discussed the use of sentinel lymph node biopsy in melanoma, outlining the indications and principles for performing lymph node dissection.

The conference was organized by Virtus Center for Medical Research under the auspices of the Oncology Clinic of the 251 General Air Force Hospital, the Athens Medical Association, the Hellenic Society of Medical Oncology, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and the Athens Medical Group.