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Cigarette smoking and malignant melanoma. Prognostic implications
Author(s) -
Koh Howard K.,
Sober Arthur J.,
Fitzpatrick Thomas B.,
Day Calvin L.,
Lew Robert A.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19840601)53:11<2570::aid-cncr2820531135>3.0.co;2-k
Subject(s) - medicine , melanoma , proportional hazards model , multivariate analysis , stage (stratigraphy) , oncology , cigarette smoking , smoking history , survival analysis , prognostic variable , paleontology , cancer research , biology
Heavy cigarette smoking (current smoking with greater than 15‐pack‐year smoking history), along with 13 other variables, were tested for their ability to predict death in 196 patients with clinical Stage I melanoma. A stepwise proportional hazards general linear model (Cox multivariate analysis) showed that although heavy cigarette smoking as a single variable is an adverse prognostic marker ( P = 0.0065), it has only suggestive prognostic significance once thickness factors are taken into account ( P = 0.0747). People who stopped smoking had the same survival as nonsmokers. Clinical Stage I patients with melanoma who were heavy smokers presented with thicker lesions than their nonsmoking counterparts ( P = 0.037). Although cigarette smoking may play a role in the biologic behavior of melanoma by mediating an effect on thickness, it need not be considered as an independent stratification criterion when analyzing results of melanoma prognosis or treatment.