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Clinical melanoma characteristics and survival—a single-center retrospective study between 2000 and 2010

Klinische Melanommerkmale und Überleben – eine retrospektive Einzelzentrumstudie der Jahre 2000–2010

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Summary

The aim of this study was to characterize clinical, histological, and outcome features of primary melanoma in 1329 patients managed at a single-center institution between 2000 and 2010. Parameters included age at diagnosis, sex, tumor location, histology, stage, Breslow thickness, and sentinel lymph node status among others. The mean age at diagnosis was 59.1 ± 16.7 years. Women were significantly younger than men when diagnosed (57.2 vs. 61.0 years; p < 0.001). Most melanomas (83%) were diagnosed on typically sun-exposed skin areas. Superficial spreading melanoma (39.5%) was the most frequent histological subtype. The median Breslow thickness was significantly higher for men compared to women (1.10 mm vs. 0.90 mm; p = 0.018). 38.3% of patients with positive and 12.9% of patients with negative sentinel biopsies progressed. Five-year survival analysis for a sub-cohort of 577 patients showed better 5‑year overall survival for woman compared to men (75.8% vs. 63.6%; p = 0.025). Our findings indicate differences in patient characteristics between men and women, and underscore the importance of early melanoma detection to prevent disease progression.

Zusammenfassung

Vorgestellt wird eine deskriptive Analyse klinischer und histologischer Daten von 1329 Patienten mit primärem Melanom, die im Zeitraum 2000–2010 in der Melanomdatenbank der dermatologischen Abteilung der Krankenanstalt Rudolfstiftung erfasst wurden. Unter anderem wurden folgende Parameter analysiert: Alter bei Diagnosestellung, Geschlecht, Tumorlokalisation, histologischer Tumortyp, Tumorstadium, Breslow-Dicke und Sentinellymphknotenstatus. Das mittlere Alter bei Diagnose betrug 59,1 ± 16,7 Jahre und war bei Frauen signifikant niedriger als bei Männern (57,2 vs. 61,0 Jahre; p < 0,001). Von den Melanomen waren 83 % auf potenziell sonnenexponierter Haut lokalisiert. Am häufigsten (39,5 %) wurde der histologische Subtyp „oberflächlich spreitend“ diagnostiziert. Die mediane Breslow-Dicke war bei Männern signifikant höher als bei Frauen (1,10 vs. 0,90 mm; p = 0,018). Bei 12,9 % der Patienten mit negativem Resultat der Sentinellymphknotenbiopsie und bei 38,3 % mit positivem Resultat kam es zu einem progressiven Krankheitsverlauf. Eine Stichprobe von 577 Patienten zeigte ein signifikant höheres 5‑Jahres-Überleben für Frauen im Vergleich zu Männern (75,8 vs. 63,6 %; p = 0,025). Diese Ergebnisse bestätigen die unterschiedliche Patientencharakteristik der Melanomerkrankung im Geschlechtsvergleich und unterstreichen, wie wichtig die Früherkennung für den weiteren Krankheitsverlauf von Melanompatienten ist.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Rudolfstiftung Hospital, Juchgasse 25, 1030, Vienna, Austria

    Valentin Feichtenschlager, Felix Weihsengruber, Leo Richter, Igor Vujic, Klemens Rappersberger & Christian Posch

  2. School of Medicine, Sigmund Freud University, Freudplatz 1, 1020, Vienna, Austria

    Igor Vujic, Klemens Rappersberger & Christian Posch

  3. Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Technical University of Munich, Biedersteiner Str. 29, 80802, Munich, Germany

    Christian Posch

  4. Department of Dermatology, Mt. Zion Cancer Research Center, University of California San Francisco, Sutter Street N461, 2340, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Valentin Feichtenschlager

Authors
  1. Valentin Feichtenschlager
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  2. Felix Weihsengruber
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  5. Klemens Rappersberger
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Correspondence to Valentin Feichtenschlager.

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Conflict of interest

V. Feichtenschlager, F. Weihsengruber, L. Richter, I. Vujic, K. Rappersberger, and C. Posch declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical standards

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1975 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Feichtenschlager, V., Weihsengruber, F., Richter, L. et al. Clinical melanoma characteristics and survival—a single-center retrospective study between 2000 and 2010. Wien Med Wochenschr 169, 323–330 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-018-0678-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-018-0678-3

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