Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Our aim in this study is to analyse patients with malign melanoma clinicopathologically.
METHODS
In this study, 166 malign melanoma patients that followed by Dokuz Eylul University Hospital Medical Oncology Clinic in years between 1996 and 2011 were evaluated retrospectively.
RESULTS
87 of patients is male, 79 is female. The median age is 52 (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). There is no significant difference in survival due to melanom primary site (P=0,32). 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
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.