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A retrospective study of malignant melanoma from a tertiary care centre in Saudi Arabia from 2004 to 2016

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Abstract

Background

Malignant melanoma is a well-known and commonly lethal tumour yet there exists scarce published information available from Saudi Arabia.

Materials and methods

This study examined the demographic, clinical, and histopathological profile of melanoma in a sample of Saudi patients over a period of 13 years. Medical records of 98 patients from 2004 to 2016 were retrieved from the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at King Faisal Specialist Hospital (KFSH), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Results

Forty two males and fifty six females (median age of 58 years) were analysed. Most cases were diagnosed in patients aged 50 years or above. The most common sites of occurrence were the extremities, especially the feet, followed by the head and neck, and then mucosal regions. Most mucosal melanomas were located in the mouth. The most common histopathological form was nodular melanoma (38 cases) followed by acral lentiginous melanoma (27 cases). Most of the cases were diagnosed in late diagnostic stages III and IV (59 cases) and most had higher Clark’s level and stage V Breslow thickness. The cases with preceding history of xeroderma pigmentosum and dysplastic nevi tended to be diagnosed earlier. The most common mode of treatment was surgical resection. Patients on palliative treatment were older. Only 27/40 patients were confirmed to be alive and the rest were lost to follow-up.

Conclusion

Our data contrast with previously published studies from other parts of the world. Further work is needed to confirm our findings of female preponderance, common histological subtypes of nodular and acral melanomas, and the high involvement of oral mucosa in our Saudi patients.

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Data availability

Due to the ethical clearance obtained for this study, data obtained from the KFSH cannot be made freely available on a public forum due to the nature of the ethical clearance granted to perform this study. However, if individual researchers would like to obtain the data to perform independent analyses, they can contact the corresponding author to obtain these data electronically following signature of relevant documentation.

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Funding

The project was funded by Internal grant research of Alfaisal University, Riyadh Saudi Arabia (IRG #: 301010209151).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    A. Alshedoukhy & K. Anwar

  2. Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    P. Cahusac

  3. Department of Comparative Medicine, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    P. Cahusac & J. Kashir

  4. Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    J. Kashir

  5. School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    J. Kashir

  6. College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    F. H. Alkhawaja

  7. King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    A. M. M. Tulbah

Authors
  1. A. Alshedoukhy
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  2. P. Cahusac
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  3. J. Kashir
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  4. F. H. Alkhawaja
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  5. A. M. M. Tulbah
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  6. K. Anwar
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Contributions

AA made substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data. PC was involved in drafting the manuscript, statistical analysis and revising it critically for important intellectual content. JK was involved in drafting the manuscript and revising it critically for important intellectual content. FA was involved in collection and analysis of data. AT made substantial contributions to acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data. KA was involved in analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the manuscript, and revising it critically for important intellectual content.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. Anwar.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical approval

The study was approved by the Local Research ethical committee of Alfaisal University Riyadh Saudi Arabia.

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Not applicable.

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Alshedoukhy, A., Cahusac, P., Kashir, J. et al. A retrospective study of malignant melanoma from a tertiary care centre in Saudi Arabia from 2004 to 2016. Clin Transl Oncol 22, 663–669 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-019-02169-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-019-02169-w

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