0000000000236759
AUTHOR
José M. Fortea
Clinicopathological analysis of 1571 cutaneous malignant melanomas in Valencia, Spain: factors related to tumour thickness.
Epidemiological studies on cutaneous melanoma in Mediterranean countries are scarce. Our aim was to perform a descriptive analysis of melanoma cases diagnosed in Valencia, Spain, and to evaluate the relationship between Breslow thickness and some clinical features. A total of 1571 patients with histologically confirmed cutaneous malignant melanoma diagnosed at the two main referral melanoma centres were evaluated retrospectively. For each patient the following clinical and pathological characteristics were selected: age, gender, anatomic site, histogenetic type, Breslow thickness, presence of ulceration, the stage, and symptoms such as bleeding, changes in size and colour, altered sensation…
Primary cutaneous melanoma in hidden sites is associated with thicker tumours — a study of 829 patients
The aim of this study was to determine if primary cutaneous melanomas in hidden anatomical sites were associated with thicker tumours. Retrospective medical data of 829 patients with melanomas diagnosed at our centre between January 1976 and July 1998 were recorded from our database. Three groups were defined according to the anatomical site of the primary melanoma: (1) visible areas (group 1: 493 patients); (2) visible areas only to the patients or to their partners in privacy (group 2: 281 patients); and (3) hidden areas (group 3: 55 patients). Univariate analysis indicated that patients with melanoma in hidden regions presented significantly thicker tumours (median for group 3: 2.25 vers…