Premium
Cutaneous malignant melanoma (arizona cancer center experience). I. Natural history and prognostic factors influencing survival in patients with stage i disease
Author(s) -
Meyskens Frank L.,
Berdeaux Donald H.,
Parks Bruce,
Tong Tony,
Loescher Lois,
Moon Thomas E.
Publication year - 1988
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(19880915)62:6<1207::aid-cncr2820620628>3.0.co;2-a
Subject(s) - medicine , natural history , stage (stratigraphy) , melanoma , disease , cancer , center (category theory) , oncology , cancer research , chemistry , crystallography , paleontology , biology
The authors have studied the natural history of 377 patients with Stage I cutaneous malignant melanoma followed at the Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson. Two hundred eight patients, or 55%, remained free of metastatic disease after a median follow‐up of 30 months. The survival at 5,8, and 10 years was 69, 65, and 63%, respectively. Natural breakpoints in Breslow thickness for survival occurred at 0.85, 1.95, and 4.00 mm. These are not significantly different from those found by other investigators. A step‐down multivariate analysis using the Cox regression model yielded four factors as highly significant in predicting survival: Breslow thickness (P < 0.001), an age/sex interaction (P = 0.0012), clinical ulceration (P = 0.0039), and a prophylactic node dissection (P = 0.019). No predictive value for a BANS or non‐BANS location was detected. These results are discussed in reference to other large series which describe the natural history of cutaneous melanoma.