Stage-specific disease recurrence and survival in localized and regionally advanced cutaneous melanoma

The Dutch Early-Stage Melanoma (D-ESMEL) study: a discovery set and validation cohort to predict the absolute risk of distant metastases in stage I/II cutaneous melanoma

Early-stage cutaneous melanoma patients generally have a favorable prognosis, yet a significant proportion of metastatic melanoma cases arise from this group, highlighting the need for improved risk stratification using novel prognostic biomarkers. The Dutch Early-Stage Melanoma (D-ESMEL) study introduces a robust, population-based methodology to develop an absolute risk prediction model for stage I/II melanoma, incorporating clinical, imaging, and multi-omics data to identify patients at increased risk for distant metastases. Utilizing the Netherlands Cancer Registry and Dutch Nationwide Pathology Databank, we collected primary tumor samples from early-stage melanoma patients, with and without distant metastases during follow-up. Our study design includes a discovery set of metastatic cases and matched controls to identify novel prognostic factors, followed by a validation cohort using a nested case-control design to validate these factors and to build a risk prediction model. Tissue sections underwent Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) staining, RNA sequencing (RNAseq), DNA sequencing (DNAseq), immunohistochemistry (IHC), and multiplex immunofluorescence (MxIF).The discovery set included 442 primary melanoma samples (221 case-control sets), with 46% stage I and 54% stage II melanomas. The median time to distant metastasis was 3.4 years, while controls had a median follow-up time of 9.8 years. The validation cohort included 154 cases and 154 controls from a random population-based selection of 5,815 patients. Our approach enabled the collection of a large number of early-stage melanoma samples from population-based databases with extensive follow-up and a sufficient number of metastatic events. This methodology in prognostic cancer research holds the potential to impact clinical decision-making through absolute risk prediction.

Melanoma in the head and neck region: the value of preoperative imaging in melanoma stage I-II

The management of head and neck melanoma (HNM) is constantly being fine-tuned in the era of immunotherapy. HNM have different metastatic patterns and a worse prognosis than melanoma of the trunk, asking for a more fine-tuned managing strategy. In clinically node-negative HNM patients, the ultrasound (US) with fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and chest X-ray (CXR) are optional modalities in the preoperative staging workup. The contribution of imaging seems limited in this stage of disease. This study aims to research the value of the US-FNAC and CXR in clinically node-negative HNM patients. Clinical stage I-II HNM patients from 2016 to 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 373 patients were analyzed. Patient characteristics, surgery and follow-up details, recurrences, tumor characteristics, staging, imaging, sentinel node procedure (SNP) details, and lab results were collected from the patient files. All patients received preoperative US. A total of 65 FNACs were performed, which found metastatic lymph nodes in two patients (0.54%). The CXR was performed in 336/373 patients and did not find any pulmonary metastases. The SNP was performed in 242 patients and demonstrated 40 positive patients, with 86% having micrometastases, isolated tumor cells, or submicrometastases. This study demonstrated a low number of relevant findings by both the US and CXR. We can conclude that both imaging modalities do not have a significant contribution to the routine staging procedure of clinical stage I-II HNM in our study group, with our results being in line with current general melanoma guidelines.

Nomogram Predicts Prognostic Factors for Head and Neck Cutaneous Melanoma: A Population-Based Analysis

BACKGROUND

The head and neck cutaneous melanoma (HNCM) accounts for 20% of newly diagnosed melanoma. Research on prognostic models for their survival yet remains largely unexplored. This study employed a nomogram approach to develop and validate a predictive model for both overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) in patients with HNCM.

METHODS

This study analyzed the HNCM patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2014 from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. To identify independent prognostic factors for HNCM, we integrated results from univariate Cox regression analysis, random survival forests, and LASSO regression with cross-validation. A nomogram was designed and validated based on the identified characteristics to predict the 3-, 5-, and 8-year OS and DSS of patients with HNCM.

RESULTS

Age, Stage, Ulceration, Thickness, Chemotherapy, lymph node metastasis, and Radiation were identified as independent prognostic factors. The nomogram achieved a satisfactory performance with C-indices of 0.824(DSS) and 0.757(OS) in the training cohort and 0.827(DSS) and 0.749(OS) in the validation cohort, respectively. The area under the curves for the OS at 3, 5, and 8 years were 0.789, 0.788, and 0.794 for the training cohort, and 0.778, 0.776, and 0.795 for the validation cohort, respectively. For DSS, the area under the curves at 3, 5, and 8 years were 0.859, 0.842, and 0.828 in the training cohort, and 0.864, 0.844, and 0.834 in the validation cohort, respectively. The calibration curve showed that there was a strong correlation between the observed outcomes and the predicted survival probability.

CONCLUSIONS

This study established and validated predictive nomograms for HNCM patients with robust predictive performance.

Cost items in melanoma patients by clinical characteristics and time from diagnosis

Background

Costs related to the care of melanoma patients have been rising over the past few years due to increased disease incidence as well as the introduction of innovative treatments. The aim of this study is to analyse CMM cost items based on stage at diagnosis, together with other diagnostic and prognostic characteristics of the melanoma.

Methods

Analyses were performed on 2,647 incident cases of invasive CMM that were registered in 2015 and 2017 in the Veneto Cancer Registry (RTV). Direct melanoma-related costs per patient were calculated for each year ranging from 2 years before diagnosis to 4 years after, and were stratified by cost items such as outpatient services, inpatient drug prescriptions, hospital admissions, hospice admissions, and emergency room treatment. Average yearly costs per patient were compared according to available clinical-pathological characteristics. Lastly, log-linear multivariable analysis was performed to investigate potential cost drivers among these clinical-pathological characteristics.

Findings

Overall, the average direct costs related to melanoma are highest in the first year after diagnosis (€2,903) and then decrease over time. Hospitalization costs are 8 to 16 times higher in the first year than in subsequent years, while the costs of outpatient services and inpatient drugs decrease gradually over time. When stratified by stage it is observed that the higher expenditure associated with more advanced stages of CMM is mainly due to inpatient drug use.

Conclusion

The results of the present study show that grouping patients according to tumour characteristics can improve our understanding of the different cost items associated with cutaneous malignant melanoma. CMM patients experience higher costs in the first year after diagnosis due to higher hospitalization and outpatient services. Policy makers should consider overall and stage-specific annual costs when allocating resources for the management of CMM patients.

Patterns of Recurrence of Cutaneous Melanoma: A Literature Review

The incidence of melanoma has been dramatically increasing over the last decades. Melanoma is considered to have a high metastatic potential and it can progress via lymphatic vessels or through hematogenous metastasis. Different patterns of recurrence have been described, namely, local, satellite, and in transit metastasis (LCIT), lymphatic metastasis, and systemic metastasis. With a more advanced melanoma stage at diagnosis, there is a higher risk for systemic metastasis in comparison to LCIT; in contrast, early-stage melanoma tends to recur more frequently as LCIT and less commonly as systematic metastasis. The aim of this review was to summarize the patterns of recurrence of cuta-neous melanoma, giving the clinician a practical summary for diagnosis, prognosis, and surveillance. There is a knowledge gap of the common patterns of recurrence that needs to be addressed to better identify patients at high risk of disease recurrence and personalize surveillance strategies as well as patient counseling.

A prognostic nomogram for the cancer-specific survival of white patients with invasive melanoma at BANS sites based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database

Objective

The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive nomogram for the cancer-specific survival (CSS) of white patients with invasive melanoma at back, posterior arm, posterior neck, and posterior scalp (BANS) sites and to determine the validity of the nomogram by comparing it with the conventional American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system.

Methods

This study analyzed the patients with invasive melanoma in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. R software was used to randomly divide the patients into training and validation cohorts at a ratio of 7:3. Multivariable Cox regression was used to identify predictive variables. The new survival nomogram was compared with the AJCC prognosis model using the concordance index (C-index), area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC), net reclassification index (NRI), integrated discrimination index (IDI), calibration plotting, and decision-curve analysis (DCA).

Results

A novel nomogram was established to determine the 3-, 5-, and 8-year CSS probabilities of patients with invasive melanoma. According to the nomogram, the Age at Diagnosis had the greatest influence on CSS in invasive melanoma, followed by Bone Metastasis, AJCC, Stage, Liver Metastasis, Histologic Subtype, Brain Metastasis, Ulceration, and Primary Site. The nomogram had a higher C-index than the AJCC staging system in both the training (0.850 versus 0.799) and validation (0.829 versus 0.783) cohorts. Calibration plotting demonstrated that the model had good calibration ability. The nomogram outperformed the AJCC staging system in terms of AUC, NRI, IDI, and DCA.

Conclusion

This was the first study to develop and evaluate a comprehensive nomogram for the CSS of white patients with invasive melanoma at BANS sites using the SEER database. The novel nomogram can assist clinical staff in predicting the 3-, 5-, and 8-year CSS probabilities of patients with invasive melanoma more accurately than can the AJCC staging system.

A Descriptive Study of Repeated Hospitalizations and Survival of Patients with Metastatic Melanoma in the Northern Italian Region during 2004-2019

BACKGROUND

Survival rates for metastatic melanoma (MM) patients have improved in recent years, leading to major expenses and health resource use. We conducted a non-concurrent prospective study to describe the burden of hospitalization in a real-world setting for patients with MM.

METHODS

Patients were tracked throughout all hospital stays in 2004-2019 by means of hospital discharges. The number of hospitalizations, the rehospitalization rate, the average time spent in the hospital and the time span between consecutive admissions were evaluated. Relative survival was also calculated.

RESULTS

Overall, 1570 patients were identified at the first stay (56.5% in 2004-2011 and 43.7% in 2012-2019). A total of 8583 admissions were retrieved. The overall rehospitalization rate was 1.78 per patient/year (95%CI = 1.68-1.89); it increased significantly with the period of first stay (1.51, 95%CI = 1.40-1.64 in 2004-2011 and 2.11, 95%CI = 1.94-2.29 thereafter). The median time span between hospitalizations was lower for patients hospitalized after 2011 (16 vs. 26 months). An improvement in survival for males was highlighted.

CONCLUSIONS

The hospitalization rate of patients with MM was higher in the last years of the study. Compared with a shorter length of stay, patients were admitted to hospitals with a higher frequency. Knowledge of the burden of MM is essential for planning the allocation of healthcare resources.

Earlier Recurrence Detection Using Routine FDG PET-CT Scans in Surveillance of Stage IIB to IIID Melanoma: A National Cohort Study of 1480 Patients

BACKGROUND

The effect of routine imaging in melanoma surveillance is unknown. In 2016, Denmark was the first country in the world to implement routine imaging with positron emission tomography-computed tomography with fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG PET-CT) in a nationwide, population-based surveillance program. This study aimed to determine the impact of surveillance with routine FDG PET-CT on hazard, cumulative incidence, and absolute risk of overall, locoregional, and distant recurrence detection in patients with stage IIB to IIID cutaneous melanoma.

METHODS

This retrospective, population-based, nationwide cohort study used prospectively collected data from five national health registries to compare hazard, cumulative incidence, and absolute risk of recurrence in patients with cutaneous melanoma diagnosed in 2008-2010 (cohort 1, followed with clinical examinations) and patients with cutaneous melanoma diagnosed in 2016-2017 (cohort 2, followed with clinical examinations and routine FDG PET-CT at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months).

RESULTS

The study included 1480 patients with stage IIB to IIID cutaneous melanoma. Cumulative incidences of overall and distant recurrence were higher in cohort 2, with a peak difference at three years (32.3 % vs 27.5 % and 25.8 % vs. 18.5 %, respectively). The hazard of recurrence was higher in cohort 2 during the first two years, with hazard rates for overall and distant recurrence of 1.16 (95 % confidence interval [CI], 0.93-1.44) and 1.51 (95 % CI, 1.16-1.96), respectively. The patterns persisted in absolute risk estimates.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with stage IIB to IIID melanoma followed with routine FDG PET-CT had a 51 % increased hazard of distant recurrence detection within the first two years of surveillance. Future studies must determine whether this earlier recurrence detection translates into improved survival.

The meaning of screening: detection of brain metastasis in the adjuvant setting for stage III melanoma

BACKGROUND

The incidence of melanoma is increasing and 37% of patients with metastatic melanoma eventually have brain metastasis (BM). Currently, there is no consensus on screening for BM in patients with resected stage III melanoma. However, given the high incidence of BM, routine screening magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain is considered in patients with completely resected stage III melanoma before the start of adjuvant treatment. The aim of this study was to assess the yield of screening for BM in these patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A single-center cohort study was carried out in the Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, a large tertiary referral center for patients with melanoma. Eligible patients with complete resection of stage III melanoma and a screening MRI of the brain, made within 12 weeks after resection and before adjuvant treatment (programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitors, dabrafenib-trametinib), available between 1 August 2018 and 1 January 2021, were included.

RESULTS

A total of 202 patients were included. Eighteen (8.9%) of 202 patients had extracranial metastasis at screening. Two (1.1%) of the remaining 184 patients had BM at screening, resulting in a switch from adjuvant treatment to ipilimumab-nivolumab. At a median follow-up of 21.2 months, BM was detected in another 4 (2.4%) of 166 patients who started with adjuvant treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

The yield of screening MRI of the brain is low after complete resection of stage III melanoma, before the start of adjuvant treatment. Therefore, routine screening MRI is not recommended in this setting.

Risk and tropism of central nervous system (CNS) metastases in patients with stage II and III cutaneous melanoma

BACKGROUND

Recent data suggest that patients with stage III melanoma are at high risk for developing central nervous system (CNS) metastases. Because a subset of patients with stage II melanoma experiences worse survival outcomes than some patients with stage III disease, the authors investigated the risk of CNS metastasis in stage II melanoma to inform surveillance guidelines for this population.

METHODS

The authors examined clinicopathologic data prospectively collected from 1054 patients who had cutaneous melanoma. The χ² test, the cumulative incidence, and Cox multivariable regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association between baseline characteristics and the development of CNS metastases.

RESULTS

Patients with stage III melanoma had a higher rate of developing brain metastases than those with stage II melanoma (100 of 468 patients [21.4%] vs. 82 of 586 patients [14.0%], respectively; p = .002). However, patients who had stage IIC melanoma had a significantly higher rate of isolated first recurrences in the CNS compared with those who had stage III disease (12.1% vs. 3.6%; p = .002). The risk of ever developing brain metastases was similarly elevated for patients who had stage IIC disease (hazard ratio [HR], 3.16; 95% CI, 1.77-5.66), stage IIIB disease (HR, 2.83; 95% CI, 1.63-4.91), and stage IIIC disease (HR, 2.93; 95% CI, 1.81-4.74), and the risk was highest in patients who had stage IIID disease (HR, 8.59; 95% CI: 4.11-17.97).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with stage IIC melanoma are at elevated risk for first recurrence in the CNS. Surveillance strategies that incorporate serial neuroimaging should be considered for these individuals until more accurate predictive markers can be identified.

Characteristics, Prognosis, and Competing Risk Nomograms of Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma: Evidence for Pigmentary Disorders

Purpose

Cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) always presents as a complex disease process with poor prognosis. The objective of the present study was to explore the influence of solitary or multiple cancers on the prognosis of patients with CMM to better understand the landscape of CMM.

Methods

We reviewed the records of CMM patients between 2004 and 2015 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. The cumulative incidence function was used to represent the probabilities of death. A novel causal inference method was leveraged to explore the risk difference to death between different types of CMM, and nomograms were built based on competing risk models.

Results

The analysis cohort contained 165,043 patients with CMM as the first primary malignancy. Patients with recurrent CMM and multiple primary tumors had similar overall survival status (p = 0.064), while their demographics and cause-specific death demonstrated different characteristics than those of patients with solitary CMM (p < 0.001), whose mean survival times are 75.4 and 77.3 months and 66.2 months, respectively. Causal inference was further applied to unveil the risk difference of solitary and multiple tumors in subgroups, which was significantly different from the total population (p < 0.05), and vulnerable groups with high risk of death were identified. The established competing risk nomograms had a concordance index >0.6 on predicting the probabilities of death of CMM or other cancers individually across types of CMM.

Conclusion

Patients with different types of CMM had different prognostic characteristics and different risk of cause-specific death. The results of this study are of great significance in identifying the high risk of cause-specific death, enabling targeted intervention in the early period at both the population and individual levels.

Epidemiology of Melanoma in Spain: Estimation of Number of Patients With Stage III Disease Eligible for Adjuvant Therapies

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Accurate information on the incidence of melanoma by stage and a better understanding of transition between stages are important for determining the burden of disease and assessing the impact of new adjuvant therapies on recurrence and survival. The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence rates of the various stages of melanoma in Spain and to estimate the number of patients with stage III disease who are eligible for adjuvant systemic therapies.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

We built an epidemiological model using prospectively collected data from patients diagnosed with de novo or recurrent melanoma between 2012 and 2016 in the melanoma units of 4 public hospitals.

RESULTS

The estimated crude incidence rates for stage I and II melanoma were 7 and 2.9 cases per 100,000 person-years, respectively. The corresponding rates for stage III and IV melanoma were 1.9 and 1.3 cases per 100,000 person-years; 25.8% of patients with stage III melanoma were stage IIIA, 47% were stage IIIB, and 27.3% were stage IIIC. The respective estimated incidence rates for recurrent stage III and IV melanoma were 1.1 and 0.9 cases per 100,000 person-years. Overall, 54% of patients with recurrent stage III melanoma had progressed from stage I or II; the other cases corresponded to changes in substage. Of the patients with stage III melanoma, 85% of those with a de novo diagnosis and 80% of those who had relapsed had resectable disease, meaning they were eligible for adjuvant therapy; 47% of these patients had a BRAF mutation.

CONCLUSIONS

The above estimates could have a major impact on health care resource planning. Assessing the number of patients with melanoma who are eligible for adjuvant therapies in melanoma could help decision-makers and clinicians anticipate future needs for the management of this disease.

Primary Melanoma Characteristics of Metastatic Disease: A Nationwide Cancer Registry Study

Simple Summary

Melanoma of the skin is the most lethal form of skin cancer. Almost 40% of the patients who die of metastatic melanoma did not have metastases at first diagnosis. More knowledge about patient and tumour characteristics as well as patterns of disease progression is needed. We described the characteristics and disease patterns of early-stage melanomas that progress into metastatic disease. We observed that more than half of the patients with metastases were initially diagnosed with early-stage disease. Additionally, we found that melanomas in some specific body sites were likely to metastasize to certain organs. Our finding that a substantial proportion of patients with metastases were initially diagnosed with early-stage disease highlights the need to investigate who these high-risk patients are.

Abstract

The characteristics and disease patterns of primary stage I and II cutaneous melanomas that progress to stage III or IV disease were investigated based on data from the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR). Data on stage III or IV melanomas at first diagnosis or during follow-up between 2017 and 2019 were retrieved. Patient and primary tumour characteristics were investigated in relation to time to disease progression and the number of organ sites with metastatic disease using regression models. In total, 2763 patients were included, of whom 1613 were diagnosed with stage IV disease. Among the patients with stage IV disease, 60% (n = 963) were initially diagnosed with stage I or II disease. The proportion of patients who received a sentinel lymph node biopsy increased after the introduction of adjuvant therapy in 2019 from 61% to 87%. Among all patients with stage III disease who were eligible for adjuvant systemic therapy (n = 453) after 2019, 37% were not treated with this therapy. Among patients with stage IV disease, lung metastases were most often detected as the first metastatic site and females presented with more metastatic sites than males. Most patient and primary tumour characteristics were not associated with the distant metastatic organ site, except melanoma localisation in the lower extremities and the head or neck. Our observation that most stage IV patients were initially diagnosed with early-stage disease highlights the need for more accurate risk prediction models.

Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic Use and Disease Progression in Early-Stage Melanoma Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Animal studies and a few clinical studies have reported mixed findings on the association between antibiotics and cancer incidence. Antibiotics may inhibit tumor cell growth, but could also alter the gut-microbiome-modulated immune system and increase the risk of cancer. Studies that assess how antibiotics affect the progression of cancer are limited. We evaluated the association between broad-spectrum antibiotic use and melanoma progression. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using IQVIA PharMetrics® Plus data (2008-2018). We identified patients with malignant melanoma who underwent wide local excision or Mohs micrographic surgery within 90 days of first diagnosis. Surgery date was the index date. Patients were excluded if they had any other cancer diagnosis or autoimmune disorders in 1 year before the index date ("baseline"). Exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics was identified in three time windows using three cohorts: 3 months prior to the index date, 1 month after the index date, and 3 months after the index date. The covariates were patients' demographic and clinical characteristics identified in the 1-year baseline period. The patients were followed from the index date until cancer progression, loss of enrollment, or the end of 2 years after the index date. Progression was defined as: (i) any hospice care after surgery, (ii) a new round of treatment for melanoma (surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, or radiotherapy) 180 days after prior treatment, or (iii) a metastasis diagnosis or a diagnosis of a new nonmelanoma primary cancer at least 180 days after first melanoma diagnosis or prior treatment. A high-dimensional propensity score approach with inverse weighting was used to adjust for the patients' baseline differences. Cox proportional hazard regression was used for estimating the association. The final samples included 3930, 3831, and 3587 patients (mean age: 56 years). Exposure to antibiotics was 16% in the prior-3-months, 22% in the post-1-month, and 22% in the post-3-months. In the pre-3-months analysis, 9% of the exposed group and 9% of the unexposed group had progressed. Antibiotic use was not associated with melanoma progression (HR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.57-1.14). However, antibiotic use in subsequent 1 month and subsequent 3 months was associated with 31% reduction (HR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.51-0.92) and 32% reduction (HR: 0.68; 95% CI: 0.51-0.91) in progression, respectively. In this cohort of patients with likely early-stage melanoma cancer, antibiotic use in 1 month and 3 months after melanoma surgery was associated with a lower risk of melanoma progression. Future studies are warranted to validate the findings.

Stage-specific trends in incidence and survival of cutaneous melanoma in the Netherlands (2003-2018): A nationwide population-based study

OBJECTIVE

To examine stage-specific trends in the incidence and survival of cutaneous melanoma in the Netherlands between 2003 and 2018, as well as the uptake of the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) and novel drugs during that period.

METHODS

Data were obtained from the nationwide population-based Netherlands Cancer Registry for all patients diagnosed with invasive primary cutaneous melanoma (n = 60,267). We presented age-standardized incidence rates, the proportion of patients with an SLNB, the proportion of patients who received a novel drug (for their primary diagnosis) and one- and five-year relative survival rates.

RESULTS

Between 2003 and 2018, the incidence rate increased from 10.9 to 23.9 for men and from 15.6 to 27.3 for women. This increase reflected the increasing incidence rate of patients with stage I and III. The proportion of patients with an SLNB increased from 23% to 64%. A reasonable increase was observed in the proportion of patients with a positive outcome (from 2% to 11%). For patients with stage IV, there was a shift from chemotherapy towards novel drugs as from 2013. The five-year relative survival rate increased from 81% to 92% for men and from 88% to 96% for women. This increase reflected the increasing five-year relative survival rate of patients with stage II, III, and IV.

CONCLUSION

We observed an increase in incidence for patients with stage I and III and an improvement in survival for patients with stage II, III and IV. These trends can be partly explained by the introduction of the SLNB and the novel drugs.

Real-world healthcare costs of localized and regionally advanced cutaneous melanoma in the Netherlands

The aim of this study was to provide insight into real-world healthcare costs of patients initially diagnosed with localized or regionally advanced melanoma in three Dutch hospitals between 2003 and 2011. Patients were stratified according to their stage at diagnosis and recurrence status. Costs were calculated by applying unit costs to individual patient resource use and reported for the full disease course, the initial treatment episode, and treatment episodes for disease recurrence (stratified by type of recurrence). We included 198 patients with localized melanoma and 98 patients with regionally advanced melanoma. Total costs were much higher for patients with disease recurrence than for patients without disease recurrence: €20 007 versus €3032 for patients with localized melanoma and €19 519 versus €5951 for patients with regionally advanced melanoma. This was owing to the costs of disease recurrence because the costs of the initial treatment were comparable between patients with and without disease recurrence. Costs of disease recurrence were dependent on the type of recurrence: €4414, €4604, €8129 and €10 393 for a local recurrence, intralymphatic metastases, regional lymph node metastases and distant metastases, respectively. In conclusion, healthcare costs of patients with localized and regionally advanced melanoma were rather low for the initial treatment. Costs became, however, more substantial in case of disease recurrence. In the context of a rapidly changing treatment paradigm, it remains crucial to monitor treatment outcomes as well as healthcare expenditures.

Early time to recurrence predicts worse survival in patients with localized or regionally advanced cutaneous melanoma

To investigate the prognostic significance of time to recurrence (TTR) for overall survival (OS) and survival after recurrence (SAR) in patients with localized or regionally advanced cutaneous melanoma. A total of 731 cutaneous melanoma patients with an initial diagnosis of 8th American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) clinical stage I‐III were included in this study. The prognostic factors associated with OS and SAR were estimated through Kaplan‐Meier and Cox regression analysis. Of the total cohort, 329 patients (45%) died, and 418 patients (57%) experienced recurrence. The median follow‐up and TTR were 55.6 months and 9.6 months, respectively. A total of 141 patients (19%) experienced recurrence in <6 months, and 277 patients (38%) experienced recurrence in ≥6 months. Patients with stage III and positive lymph node dissection (LND) were more common in the early TTR group than in the late TTR group. Both the OS and SAR rates at 5 years and 10 years in the early TTR group were significantly poorer than those in the late TTR group (P < .001 and P = .008, respectively). Furthermore, early TTR, along with truncal tumor, higher TNM stage and therapeutic variables (extended resection, LND and adjuvant therapy), were significant independent predictors of worse OS and SAR in multivariate analysis (all P < .05). Early TTR predicts worse survival and could be considered an independent prognostic factor for patients with localized or regionally advanced cutaneous melanoma. TTR should be evaluated in all patients with recurrence to guide post‐recurrence risk stratification and follow‐up schedules.

Primary dermal melanoma: clinical behaviour, prognosis and treatment

PURPOSE

Primary dermal melanoma (PDM) is a subtype of cutaneous melanoma, confined to the dermis, which poses a challenging clinical dilemma. It may represent a true primary melanoma or a dermal cutaneous metastasis. This study aimed to delineate the histopathological characteristics and prognosis of PDM in a large patient cohort to guide appropriate treatment strategies.

METHODS

A search of the Melanoma Research Database at Melanoma Institute Australia was conducted to identify all possible PDM patients at our institution diagnosed from 1978 to 2013. Overall, melanoma-specific and disease-free survival outcomes of the PDM group were compared to those of similar cohorts of Stage I-II and Stage IV M1a melanoma patients based on propensity score matching.

RESULTS

Sixty-two PDM patients were identified from the MRD with a median follow-up of 6.3 years. Five-year survival was 87.1% and overall survival was 74.2%. PDMs had a significantly improved overall survival (p = 0.0002) and melanoma-specific survival (p = 0.001) compared to Stage I-II controls, however there was no difference in disease-free survival (p = 0.08). PDMs also demonstrated improved overall survival (p < 0.0001), melanoma-specific survival (p < 0.0001) and disease-free survival (p < 0.0001) compared to Stage IV M1a controls.

CONCLUSION

These findings demonstrate that PDMs have a more favorable prognosis compared to stage I-II cutaneous melanomas and suggest that these are in fact true primary lesions. This study thus provides evidence to justify a treatment approach, by way of a wide local excision and possibly sentinel lymph node biopsy, as for early stage primary cutaneous melanomas.

National Burden of Hospitalization Due to Cutaneous Melanoma in Adolescents and Young Adults

OBJECTIVES

Although adolescents and young adults (AYA) suffer disproportionately from cutaneous melanoma (CM), little is known regarding the burden of CM leading to hospitalization in AYA. The objective of this study was to elucidate sociodemographic/hospitalization characteristics of AYA CM inpatients, determine which factors lead to the greater length of stay (LOS) and cost of care for AYA CM inpatients, and evaluate trends in the prevalence, LOS, and cost of care for AYA CM hospitalizations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective cohort study of nationally representative data from the 2009 to 2015 National Inpatient Sample. Multivariable survey-weighted logistic regression models were used to determine sociodemographic factors associated with AYA CM hospitalization. Multivariable survey-weighted linear regression models were used to determine characteristics associated with the greater cost of care and LOS in AYA CM inpatients.

RESULTS

A total of 8986 AYA CM inpatients were included in this study. The prevalence of AYA CM hospitalizations is decreasing over time while the cost of care is increasing. On average, AYA CM hospitalizations were 3.3 days long and cost $38,018.40. Controlling for all covariates, male sex, older age, non-Hispanic white race, higher income, private insurance, and elective admissions were associated with AYA hospitalization due to CM (P<0.0001). Male sex was associated with longer LOS (P=0.007) and cost of care (P=0.01) among AYA hospitalized for CM.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite a decreasing prevalence of CM hospitalizations in AYA inpatients, the economic burden of these hospitalizations is increasing. Substantial sex-based differences exist in the inpatient burden of AYA CM. Further research is required to elucidate the causes of these differences and prevent AYA hospitalization due to CM.