Originally published as JCO Early Release 10.1200/JCO.2004.03.074 on August 9 2004

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Save to my personal folders Download to citation manager Rights & Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Leiter, U. Articles by Garbe, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Leiter, U. Articles by Garbe, C. Related Articles Related Article Related Editorial Social Bookmarking                            What's this?

Prognostic Factors of Thin Cutaneous Melanoma: An Analysis of the Central Malignant Melanoma Registry of the German Dermatological Society

From the Department of Dermatology, Skin Cancer Program, Central Malignant Melanoma Registry of the German Dermatological Society, Eberhard-Karls-University, Tuebingen, Germany; Skin Cancer Research Group, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia

Address reprint requests to Professor Claus Garbe, MD, Department of Dermatology, Eberhard-Karls-University, Liebermeisterstrasse 25, D-72076 Tuebingen, Germany; e-mail: claus.garbe{at}med.uni-tuebingen.de

PURPOSE: The increasing number of thin cutaneous melanomas (CM) with tumor thickness up to 1 mm demands a detailed analysis of prognostic factors for the classification and grading of these tumors. The aim of the present study was to identify prognostic factors in thin CM.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: A series of 12,728 patients with thin incident primary invasive CM and follow-up data recorded between 1976 and 2000 by the German-based Central Malignant Melanoma Registry was analyzed using the multivariate Cox proportional hazard model to evaluate prognostic factors, and classification and regression trees analysis (CART) to define prognostic groups.

RESULTS: Multivariate analysis found tumor thickness, sex, age, body site, and histopathologic subtype to be significant prognostic factors of thin CM. Ulceration and regression did not affect prognosis significantly. Prognostic classification based on the results of CART analysis resulted in three groups defined by tumor thickness, age, and sex. Ten-year survival rates of these groups varied between 91.8% and 98.1%, with improved classification as compared with subgroups by tumor thickness alone.

CONCLUSION: Classification by tumor thickness identified prognostic subgroups with highest significance in thin CM, and the classification was improved by the introduction of age and sex. However, neither ulceration nor the level of invasion included in the new American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM system classification, revealed statistical significance as prognostic factors in thin CM.

Authors’ disclosures of potential conflicts of interest are found at the end of this article.

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Facebook    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

Related Article

• Thin Primary Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma: A Prognostic Tree for 10-Year Metastasis Is More Accurate Than American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging
  Phyllis A. Gimotty, DuPont Guerry, Michael E. Ming, Rosalie Elenitsas, Xiaowei Xu, Brian Czerniecki, Francis Spitz, Lynn Schuchter, and David Elder
  JCO 2004 22: 3668-3676 [Abstract] [Full Text]

Related Editorial

• Thin Melanoma: Still "Excellent Prognosis" Disease?
  A.C. Halpern and A.A. Marghoob
  JCO 2004 22: 3651-3653 [Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. C. Karakousis, P. A. Gimotty, B. J. Czerniecki, D. E. Elder, R. Elenitsas, M. E. Ming, D. L. Fraker, D. Guerry, and F. R. Spitz Regional Nodal Metastatic Disease Is the Strongest Predictor of Survival in Patients with Thin Vertical Growth Phase Melanomas: A Case for SLN Staging Biopsy in These Patients Ann. Surg. Oncol., May 1, 2007; 14(5): 1596 - 1603. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. A. Gimotty, D. E. Elder, D. L. Fraker, J. Botbyl, K. Sellers, R. Elenitsas, M. E. Ming, L. Schuchter, F. R. Spitz, B. J. Czerniecki, et al. Identification of High-Risk Patients Among Those Diagnosed With Thin Cutaneous Melanomas J. Clin. Oncol., March 20, 2007; 25(9): 1129 - 1134. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. R. Fears, D. Guerry IV, R. M. Pfeiffer, R. W. Sagebiel, D. E. Elder, A. Halpern, E. A. Holly, P. Hartge, and M. A. Tucker Identifying Individuals at High Risk of Melanoma: A Practical Predictor of Absolute Risk J. Clin. Oncol., August 1, 2006; 24(22): 3590 - 3596. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. C. Karakousis, P. A. Gimotty, J. D. Botbyl, S. B. Kesmodel, D. E. Elder, R. Elenitsas, M. E. Ming, D. Guerry, D. L. Fraker, B. J. Czerniecki, et al. Predictors of Regional Nodal Disease in Patients With Thin Melanomas Ann. Surg. Oncol., April 1, 2006; 13(4): 533 - 541. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. S. Tyler and C. M. Balch Nomograms and Staging in Melanoma: New Tools for Better Predicting Outcomes Ann. Surg. Oncol., April 1, 2005; 12(4): 267 - 269. [Full Text] [PDF]

				A.C. Halpern and A.A. Marghoob Thin Melanoma: Still "Excellent Prognosis" Disease? J. Clin. Oncol., September 15, 2004; 22(18): 3651 - 3653. [Full Text] [PDF]