Prognostic Variables for Patients with Stage III Malignant Melanoma

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic factors for patients with stage III malignant melanoma and to identify patients at high risk of developing recurrent disease who may benefit from adjuvant therapy. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Specialist hospital, USA. Subjects: 130 patients with stage...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The European journal of surgery 2000, Vol.166 (3), p.233-239
Main Authors: Messaris, G. E., Konstadoulakis, M. M., Ricaniadis, N., Leandros, E., Androulakis, G., Karakousis, P. C.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Objective: To evaluate the prognostic factors for patients with stage III malignant melanoma and to identify patients at high risk of developing recurrent disease who may benefit from adjuvant therapy. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Specialist hospital, USA. Subjects: 130 patients with stage III malignant melanoma (according to the TNM classification), treated at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute between 1970 and 1992. Main outcome measures: Survival and prognostic factors on multivariate analysis. Results: Four factors were independent prognostic indicators for patients with stage III malignant melanoma: age >51 years (p = 0.008), >3 involved lymph nodes, (p = 0.03), the site of the primary tumour on head or trunk, (p = 0.007), and the presence of palpable lymph nodes (p = 0.004). Conclusion: These prognostic factors help us to stratify patients into low and high-risk groups. High-risk patients may benefit from more aggressive adjuvant therapy in future trials of treatment of melanoma.
ISSN:1102-4151
1741-9271
DOI:10.3109/110241500750009348