Lymphatic Microvascular Density, Lymphatic Invasion and Endothelial Cell Proliferation as Prognostic Biomarkers in Cutaneous Melanoma: A Systematic Review and Evidence Map

Background/Objectives: Cutaneous melanoma spreads preferentially through the lymphatic system, and sentinel lymph node status is among the strongest prognostic factors. Whether tumour angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis add prognostic information beyond conventional histopathology has been examined in many immunohistochemical studies, with heterogeneous results. We conducted a systematic review, reported according to PRISMA 2020 and not registered, of blood microvascular density (MVD), lymphatic vessel density (LVD) in the intratumoral and peritumoral compartments, proliferating (Ki-67-positive) lymphatic vessels and lymphatic invasion (LI) as prognostic markers in primary cutaneous melanoma.

Methods