New prognostic factors may help to predict survival in
patients diagnosed with thin melanoma, recent study findings suggest.
Researchers with Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan,
reviewed data from 2,243 patients with thin melanoma, using multivariable Cox
regression to investigate survival predictors, according to the study. Median follow-up was 124 months, and
12-year overall survival was 85.3 percent (95 percent confidence interval
83.4-87.2 percent).
The worst prognosis categories for thin melanoma were
patients older than age 60, Breslow thickness more than 0.75 mm, mitoic rate of
1 or higher, presence of ulceration, lymphovascular invasion, and regression of
50 percent or more. Researchers used age, ulceration, mitotic rate,
lymphovascular invasion, regression and sentinel node status to construct a
nomogram to predict 12-year overall survival. They noted the nomogram was well
calibrated and had good discriminative ability.
“Our findings suggest including LVI (lymphovascular
invasion) and regression as new prognostic factors in the melanoma staging
system,” study authors concluded. “The nomogram appears useful for risk
stratification in clinical management and for recruiting patients to clinical
trials.”
The findings were published online July 7 in the Journal of Clinical
Oncology.
