Clinicopathological analysis of patients with malign melanoma

Introduction and Objective: Our aim in this study is to analyse clinicopathological features, primary locations, metastasis locations and survival rates due to primary locations in malign melanoma patients that followed by Dokuz Eylul University Hospital Medical Oncology Clinic in years between 1999 and 2011. Malign melanoma is depended on environmental factors. Sunlight exposure is a risk factor. We mostly administer patients from Aegean Region that gets more sunlight relatively. Consequently, we would have opportunity to evaluate malign melanoma patients around Izmir clinicopathologically. Furthermore the descriptive studies about malign melanoma are few in Turkey. Contribution to Turkish data would be our other objective.Patients and Method: In this study, 166 malign melanoma patients that followed by Dokuz Eylul University Hospital Medical Oncology Clinic in years between 1991 and 2011 were evaluated retrospectively. Initially, malign melanoma ICD code was entered to hospital computer system, we achieved 334 malign melanoma patient data. We found complete data of 240 patients in Oncology records. 84 patients were excluded from the study. The demographic and clinical datas of all patients were included in the study such as age, sex, metastasis, tumor location, breslow thickness, last follow-up date, first metastasis date, exitus date and datas in oncology charts which are recorded by hospital otomation system. Average age of tumor occurence and average time of survival were detected due to sex, breslow thickness, general time of survival and location. Significance of difference between location and breslow thickness was also analysed.Results: 87 of patients is male, 79 is female. The median age is 52,66 (21-81). The most common site for malign melanoma is extremity; head, neck and body are less commonly involved. There is no statistically significant difference between primary tumor site and breslow thickness (p=0.109). Breslow thickness and survival are related statistically significant. Average survival time for Breslow thickness between 0 and 2mm is 125,6 months (99-151), 2 and 4 mm is 121,2 months (92-151) and over 4mm is 89 months (68-111) and difference between groups are statistically significant (p=0,012). 1 year survival rate for all patients is 96%, 2 year survival rate is 92.1% and 5 year survival rate is 82.7%. Average survival time is detected as 89,74±6,9 months. Mean survival time for female patients is 108.8 months, 72.9 months for male patients which is statistically significant (P=0,001 The mean survival time for head-neck malign melanoma is 69.6 months, 114.1 months for body involvement and 82.0 months for extremity involvement. ). There is no significant difference in survival due to melanom primary site (P=0,32) .Discussion: Malign melanoma has the worst progress in all skin cancers and there are several factors affecting the prognosis. The most important prognostic factors detected in this study are breslow thickness, primary tumor site and sex. This study is one the few studies designed to investigate malign melanoma prognosis and clinic in our country.