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Seasons influence diagnosis and outcome of cutaneous melanoma
Author(s) -
Tas Faruk,
Erturk Kayhan
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
dermatologic therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.595
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1529-8019
pISSN - 1396-0296
DOI - 10.1111/dth.13625
Subject(s) - medicine , melanoma , cancer research
The effects of season changes on the diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma have already been concluded; however, its clinical significance has yet to be defined. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of seasons on both the diagnosis and outcome of melanoma. A total of 1258 adult Caucasian Turkish cutaneous melanoma patients who had been treated and followed up in a single tertiary cancer referral center were included in the study. The most frequently affected season was summer (29%) followed by spring (26.6%), autumn (23.1%), and winter (21.3%). Similarly, rate of the patients diagnosed in July compared to January was significantly higher (11% vs 6%). Most of the clinicopathological characteristics were not correlated with seasons. The 5‐year overall survival rate was significantly higher for patients diagnosed in August (81%) than other months, and especially January (47%) ( P = .002 and P = .0001, respectively). Similarly, the patients of July (65%) survived longer than those of January ( P = .02). Furthermore, similar favorable outcomes for summer (70%) compared to other seasons and winter (51%) were shown ( P = .005 and P = .001, respectively). In conclusion, there are seasonal fluctuations in diagnosis of melanoma with a peak in summer, and those diagnosed in summer have favorable survival outcomes.