Melanoma in the dermatologist's office

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Oncology
• Public Health

Background:

• Melanoma is a significant public health concern.
• Early detection of melanoma improves patient survival rates.
• Understanding patient presentation patterns is key for effective screening.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze melanoma characteristics in a private dermatology practice over 15 years.
• To assess patient demographics, lesion details, and survival outcomes.
• To compare melanoma presentation stages in a specialized setting versus general medical settings.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 43 melanoma cases from a single dermatologist's office.
• Data collected included lesion size, location, stage, histologic type, patient sex, and survival.
• Analysis of trends in melanoma incidence per patient visits over the study period.

Main Results:

• Forty-three melanomas were identified in 41 patients; 9% (4 patients) died from melanoma.
• All patients were diagnosed at clinical stage 1.
• Superficial spreading melanoma was the most common type (56%), with most lesions under 1.6 cm.

Conclusions:

• Patients seeking care at a dermatologist's office often present with earlier-stage melanomas.
• Yearly skin examinations are recommended for early detection of pigmented lesions.
• An increasing trend in melanoma cases per patient visits was observed over 15 years.