A single institution retrospective analysis of malignant melanoma

The incidence of melanoma is rising at a rate greater than any other malignancy, although much of this increase is due to the more frequent diagnosis of patients with the earlier stages of melanoma.

In this study, patient and tumor-related characteristics and their effects on survival were evaluated.

The data was drawn from the patients' records with histologically proven primary cutaneous melanomas treated at the Ankara Oncology Hospital between January 2003 and December 2010. Sixty-nine patients (48 men and 21 women) were included in this study. 17 of the patients had already distant metastases at the time of diagnosis. While 45 of all patients had undergone surgery alone, 17 had received only palliative radiotherapy, and 7 had received primary radiotherapy. Survival curves were determined from the time of diagnosis.

A total of 69 cutaneous melanoma cases were evaluated. While there was a predominance of males in all body sites, especially in the head and neck regions, the number of male patients was 5 times higher than females. Diseases located on the head tended to present a significantly higher rate in older patients (P = 0.009). Overall survival rates for 1 and 3 years were 79% and 44%, respectively. Distant metastatic melanoma was significantly related with poor prognosis (P < 0.001). Anatomic location showed a borderline significancy as a prognostic factor for overall survival (P = 0.053).

Cutaneous melanomas developing at different body sites are associated with distinct patterns of survival outcomes. In this retrospective analysis, melanomas of the head and neck and limb, which are regional melanoma, appear to have better survival outcomes.