TY - JOUR
T1 - Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in primary melanoma are associated with a better prognosis
AU - the Sentinel Lymph Node Working Group
AU - Morrison, Steven L.
AU - Han, Gang
AU - Elenwa, Faith
AU - Leong, Stanley P.
AU - Kashani-Sabet, Mohammed
AU - Pockaj, Barbara
AU - Kosiorek, Heidi E.
AU - White, Richard L.
AU - Zager, Jonathan S.
AU - Messina, Jane L.
AU - Sondak, Vernon
AU - O'Donoghue, Cristina
AU - Howard, John Harrison
AU - Schneebaum, Schlomo
AU - Olofsson Bagge, Roger
AU - Namm, Jukes P.
AU - Garberoglio, Carlos
AU - Avisar, Eli
AU - Fowler, Graham
AU - Han, Dale
AU - Vetto, John
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - Background: The relationship between tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) and survival in melanoma is poorly understood. We present a large multicenter study assessing the association between TIL and survival. Methods: The Sentinel Lymph Node Working Group database was queried from 1993 to 2024 for cases with known TIL and survival data. TIL was analyzed dichotomously and stratified as non-brisk, brisk, and absent. Clinicopathologic factors were correlated with melanoma-specific survival (MSS), overall survival (OS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS). Results: Among 4957 patients, TIL was present in 3980 (80.2 %) of patients. TIL was prognostic of MSS (p = 0.0033), OS (p = 0.0053), and RFS (p = 0.0011). In the stratified analysis, brisk TIL was more strongly associated with MSS, OS, and RFS than non-brisk TIL (all p < 0.04). Among patients with a positive sentinel lymph node, TIL was prognostic of MSS, OS, and RFS (all p < 0.03). Conclusions: TIL is strongly predictive of survival in melanoma and may be useful in risk stratification when deciding whether risks of adjuvant therapy outweigh benefits for certain patients.
AB - Background: The relationship between tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) and survival in melanoma is poorly understood. We present a large multicenter study assessing the association between TIL and survival. Methods: The Sentinel Lymph Node Working Group database was queried from 1993 to 2024 for cases with known TIL and survival data. TIL was analyzed dichotomously and stratified as non-brisk, brisk, and absent. Clinicopathologic factors were correlated with melanoma-specific survival (MSS), overall survival (OS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS). Results: Among 4957 patients, TIL was present in 3980 (80.2 %) of patients. TIL was prognostic of MSS (p = 0.0033), OS (p = 0.0053), and RFS (p = 0.0011). In the stratified analysis, brisk TIL was more strongly associated with MSS, OS, and RFS than non-brisk TIL (all p < 0.04). Among patients with a positive sentinel lymph node, TIL was prognostic of MSS, OS, and RFS (all p < 0.03). Conclusions: TIL is strongly predictive of survival in melanoma and may be useful in risk stratification when deciding whether risks of adjuvant therapy outweigh benefits for certain patients.
KW - Melanoma
KW - Melanoma-specific survival
KW - Overall survival
KW - Recurrence-free survival
KW - Sentinel lymph node biopsy
KW - Staging
KW - TIL
KW - Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes
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U2 - 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2025.116243
DO - 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2025.116243
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85218115919
SN - 0002-9610
VL - 246
JO - American journal of surgery
JF - American journal of surgery
M1 - 116243
ER -