Cutaneous melanoma in patients from western Mexico: Clinical pathology characteristics and their relationship to prognosis

• Published in: Australasian journal of dermatology 2019-11, Vol.60 (4), p.e298-e303
• Main Authors: Pérez‐Aldrete, Berenice Monserratt, Matildes‐Mariscal, Jessica Berenice, Gómez‐Padilla, Frania, Guevara‐Gutiérrez, Elizabeth, Barrientos‐García, Juan Gabriel, Hernández‐Peralta, Sarah Lizette, Tlacuilo‐Parra, Alberto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Child; cutaneous; Diagnosis; epidemiology; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Male; Medical prognosis; Melanoma; Melanoma - mortality; Melanoma - pathology; Metastases; Metastasis; Mexico; Mexico - epidemiology; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Metastasis; Neoplasm Staging; Population studies; Prognosis; Retrospective Studies; Skin Neoplasms - mortality; Skin Neoplasms - pathology; Survival; Survival Analysis; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0004-8380; 1440-0960
• DOI: 10.1111/ajd.13054

Background/Objective Melanoma is the third most frequent malignant neoplasm in skin. The majority of information available comes from studies performed in Caucasian populations. Our objective was to investigate the clinico‐pathological characteristics in Mexican patients with cutaneous melanoma and the relationship these characteristics had to prognosis. Methods A retrospective study included patients with a histopathological diagnosis of melanoma who were attended at a tertiary level Dermatology Institute over a 10‐year period. Age, gender, anatomical location; histopathological subtype, Breslow thickness, Clark level; presence of ulceration, metastasis, anatomical–pathological stage and survival were investigated. To assess the data, descriptive statistics, chi‐squared or the Fisher exact test and Kaplan–Meier curves were used. Results There were 323 patients included. The overall survival rate was 77% with an average follow‐up of 7 years. The lowest survival was statistically related to the following: higher age (>65 years), localisation in palms/soles, histopathological nodular subtype, presence of ulceration, Breslow thickness >4.0 mm, Clark level V, the presence of metastasis and stage IV disease. Conclusions Our results relay the characteristics and prognosis of patients with the diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma in western Mexico.