The Tail and the String Sign: New Sonographic Features of Subcutaneous Melanoma Metastasis

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• 作者：Antonio Corvino^&lowast ; ; ^&dagger ; ; ^{an.cor@hotmail.it} ; Fabio Corvino^&lowast ; ; Orlando Catalano^&dagger ; ; Fabio Sandomenico^&dagger ; ; Antonella Petrillo^&dagger ;
• 关键词：Melanoma ; High-resolution ultrasound ; Metastasis ; Lymph node metastasis ; Subcutaneous tissue
• 刊名：Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：January 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：43
• 期：1
• 页码：370-374
• 全文大小：904 K
• 卷排序：43

文摘

No highly specific sonographic imaging findings to evaluate melanoma spread along the lymphatic vessels have ever been described. Between January 2009 and December 2012, a consecutive group of 531 melanoma patients at their initial stage or during follow-up for nodal or extra-nodal superficial metastasis were evaluated retrospectively to assess the presence of two sonographic findings demonstrating superficial lymphatic metastasis: a “tail” sign (a thin hypoechoic prolongation from one or both poles of a superficial metastasis) and a “string” sign (multiple in-transit lesions connected to each other in a rosary image). The total number of superficial metastatic lesions was 222. The tail sign was seen in 13 of the 222 lesions (5.9%). The string sign was detected in four patients (4.5%). These signs showed a low sensitivity with a very high specificity (100%). Tail and string signs may represent an additional finding of high specificity to be employed in the differential diagnosis of melanoma patients.