[Improved compliance with the 'Melanoma' treatment guideline]

To evaluate the level of compliance with the revised treatment guideline for melanoma (2005) and the extent to which the points of concern from the previous guideline evaluation in 2001 had been implemented.

Retrospective observational cohort study.

The evaluation was performed using data from the pathology reports of patients diagnosed with melanoma of the skin between 1 April and 30 September 2007 at hospitals that fall under the Comprehensive Cancer Centres for the South and West of the Netherlands.

In 85% of the patients the melanoma was treated according to the guideline in two sessions: a diagnostic excision followed by a therapeutic re-excision. These figures were 69% for melanoma in situ, and 87% for invasive melanoma. The other patients were treated in one session. In the pathology reports of the patients with an invasive melanoma the rates of pathological documentation were: margin of the diagnostic excision: 64%, Breslow thickness: 97%, presence or absence of ulceration: 77%. In the Comprehensive Cancer Care Centre West Netherlands region, the margin of re-excision was determined: this margin satisfied the guideline in 86% of patients with an invasive melanoma.

Compared to the previous guideline evaluation in 2001, the excision policy had improved. In the pathology report, the excision margin and the presence or absence of ulceration should be better documented.