Five-year survival in patients with nodular and superficial spreading melanomas in the US population

Although superficial spreading melanomas (SSM) are diagnosed as thinner lesions, nodular melanomas (NM) have a more rapid growth rate and are biologically more aggressive compared with other histologic subtypes.

To determine the difference in 5-year relative survival in patients with NM and SSM at the same Breslow depth and TNM stage.

A population-based cross-sectional analysis compared the 5-year relative survival of patients with NM and SSM using data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)∗Stat software (version 8.2.1-8.3.5). Chi-square tests compared the proportions, and Kaplan-Meier method with Z-score compared 5-year relative survival.

For patients receiving a diagnosis between 2004 and 2009, 5-year relative survival was lower in NM compared with SSM (53.7% vs 87.3%; Z score, -41.35; P < .001). Similarly, for patients receiving a diagnosis between 2010 and 2015, 5-year relative survival was lower in NM compared with SSM (61.5% vs 89.7%; Z score, -2.7078; P < .01). Subgroup analyses showed inferior survival in NM in T1b, and survival differences remained significant after excluding patients with nodal or distant metastases.

Five-year relative survival is worse in NM compared with SSM especially in T1b, T2a, and T2b melanomas. Melanoma subtype should be taken into consideration when making treatment recommendations.