Not all melanomas are created equal: a review and call for more research into nodular melanoma

A Prognostic Model for Cancer-Specific Survival Among Patients with Nodular Melanoma in Head and Neck

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to evaluate the correlation between risk factors and treatment methods affecting nodular melanoma (NM) in the head and neck, as well as cancer-specific survival (CSS), and provide personalized predictive tools for clinical physicians.

METHODS

The retrospective study data of 1848 patients were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. All variables were included in the correlation analysis using the Spearman method. Significant prognostic factors were extracted and integrated through Cox risk regression analysis to construct a nomogram. To assess the performance of the nomogram, Harrell's concordance index (C-index) and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were employed.

RESULTS

Spearman's correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between radiotherapy and lymph node metastasis, whereas chemotherapy showed a stronger association with distant metastasis. However, Cox risk regression analysis demonstrated that Mohs surgery and wide excision with margins exceeding 1 cm yielded substantial therapeutic advantages. Five independent risk prognostic factors (Breslow thickness, ulceration, N classification, M classification, and surgery type) were employed to construct a nomogram. The C-index for this nomogram was 0.713 for the training set and 0.720 for the validation set. In the training set, the 3-, 5-, and 8-year areas under the curve (AUCs) for CSS were 0.752, 0.723, and 0.720, whereas the validation set's AUCs were 0.754, 0.763, and 0.760, respectively. Calibration curves indicated the nomogram's strong discriminative ability for predicting CSS.

CONCLUSION

In this study, we identified independent prognostic factors for patients with NM in head and neck and developed a relatively accurate model to predict the survival probability of them, which could contribute to the tumor assessment and clinical decision-making.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level 3 Laryngoscope, 2024.

Assessing the genetic risk of nodular melanoma using a candidate gene approach

BACKGROUND

Nodular melanoma (NM) is a challenge to diagnose early due to its rapid growth and more atypical clinical presentation, making it the largest contributor to melanoma mortality.

OBJECTIVES

Our study aim was to perform a rare-variant allele (RVA) analysis of whole-exome sequencing of patients with NM and non-NM (minor allele frequency ≤ 1% non-Finnish European) for a set of 500 candidate genes potentially implicated in melanoma.

METHODS

This study recruited 131 participants with NM and 194 with non-NM from South-east Queensland and patients with NM from Victoria to perform a comparative analysis of possible genetic differences or similarities between the two melanoma cohorts.

RESULTS

Phenotypic analysis revealed that a majority of patients diagnosed with NM were older males with a higher frequency of fair skin and red hair than is seen in the general population. The distribution of common melanoma polygenic risk scores was similar in patients with NM and non-NM, with over 28% in the highest quantile of scores. There was also a similar frequency of carriage of familial/high-penetrant melanoma gene and loss-of-function variants. We identified 39 genes by filtering 500 candidate genes based on the greatest frequency in NM compared with non-NM cases. The genes with RVAs of greatest frequency in NM included PTCH1, ARID2 and GHR. Rare variants in the SMO gene, which interacts with PTCH1 as ligand and receptor, were also identified, providing evidence that the Hedgehog pathway may contribute to NM risk. There was a cumulative effect in carrying multiple rare variants in the NM-associated genes. A 14.8-fold increased ratio for NM compared with non-NM was seen when two RVAs of the 39 genes were carried by a patient.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights the importance of considering frequency of RVA to identify those at risk of NM in addition to known high penetrance genes.

Analysis and prediction of 5-year survival in patients with cutaneous melanoma: a model-based period analysis

Background

The survival and prognosis of patients are significantly threatened by cutaneous melanoma (CM), which is a highly aggressive disease. It is therefore crucial to determine the most recent survival rate of CM. This study used population-based cancer registry data to examine the 5-year relative survival rate of CM in the US.

Methods

Period analysis was used to assess the relative survival rate and trends of patients with CM in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database during 2004-2018. And based on the data stratified by age, gender, race and subtype in the SEER database, a generalized linear model was 12established to predict the 5-year relative survival rate of CM patients from 2019 to 2023.

Results

The 5-year relative survival increased to various degrees for both total CM and CM subtypes during the observation period. The improvement was greatest for amelanotic melanoma, increasing from 69.0% to 81.5%. The 5-year overall relative survival rates of CM were 92.9%, 93.5%, and 95.6% for 2004-2008, 2009-2013, and 2014-2018, respectively. Females had a marginally higher survival rate than males for almost all subtypes, older people had lower survival rates than younger people, white patients had higher survival rates than nonwhite ones, and urban locations had higher rates of survival from CM than rural locations did. The survival rate of CM was significantly lower for distant metastasis.

Conclusion

The survival rate of patients with CM gradually improved overall during 2004-2018. With the predicted survival rate of 96.7% for 2019-2023, this trend will still be present. Assessing the changes experienced by patients with CM over the previous 15 years can help in predicting the future course of CM. It also provides a scientific foundation that associated departments can use to develop efficient tumor prevention and control strategies.

Late diagnosis of a giant, pedunculated, cutaneous melanoma: a rare case study in an Australian tertiary centre

Giant melanomas are uncommon tumours that still occur in Australia despite extensive public health messaging on the importance of early detection of skin cancers. We present the case of a 49-year-old female with a giant melanoma of her left arm measuring 101 × 71 × 22 mm, which had been growing for over 1 year and was metastatic on presentation. In this interesting case, we identify reasons for delayed presentation and highlight the importance of multi-disciplinary care in the management of such large tumours, with reference to other cases in the literature.

Surgical technique for margin widening in the treatment of polypoid nodular malignant back melanoma

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE

Nodular melanoma is the second most frequent cutaneous melanoma worldwide and due to its rapid growth rate and non-malignant appearance, is the most aggressive one. In its polypoid form, it is usually found in mucosal areas, but can also be seen on the trunk. This case is presented because it is an unusual manifestation and surgical treatment required wide excision, however, the patient's evolution is favorable.

CASE PRESENTATION

70-year-old female patient shows a progressively growing lesion with irregular border, abnormal color and a heterogeneous appearance. The biopsy yields the histological diagnosis of nodular polypoid melanoma. The surgical technique results in the resection of a 10 × 9 × 67 cm piece with favorable evolution of the patient.

CLINICAL DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The surgical technique of margin widening is considered a recommended option for polypoid nodular back melanomas. Although the excision is considered vast, the patient's evolution may turn out to be favorable.

Extensive Scalp Melanoma in an Elderly Female: A Case Report and Literature Review

Scalp melanoma is a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer. Its occurrence in the elderly population poses unique challenges due to factors such as delayed diagnosis and comorbidities. We present a case of extensive scalp melanoma in an elderly female to highlight the clinical presentation, diagnostic process, treatment modalities, and outcomes. Biopsy and histopathological analysis showed the presence of dysplastic nevi arising in pigmented melanocytic nevi, with uncertain pagetoid spread of atypical melanocytes. The management involved complete excision with safety margins and immunotherapy based on melanoma guidelines. This case underscores the importance of early detection and tailored treatment strategies in managing melanoma in elderly patients.

Clinical, Dermoscopic, and Histological Characteristics of Melanoma Patients According to the Age Groups: A Retrospective Observational Study

BACKGROUND

Although the role of melanoma risk factors is well documented, their correlation with patients' age is less frequently analyzed.

METHOD

The analysis was performed among 189 melanoma patients in different age groups, including <30 years, 31-60 years, and >60 years, to investigate the risk factors, topography, and coexistence of morphological features of 209 melanomas (dermoscopic and histopathological).

RESULTS

Among the youngest age group, no correlation with the presence of estimated risk factors was found. The most common dermoscopic pattern was spitzoid and multicomponent asymmetric. The group of middle-aged patients was the most diverse in terms of the occurrence of risk factors, solar lentiginosis, dermoscopic patterns, topography, histological subtypes, and invasiveness of melanomas. The oldest group characterized a strong correlation between solar lentiginosis, NMSC comorbidity, the prevalence of facial melanomas, the dermoscopic pattern of melanoma arising on chronic sun-damaged skin, and regression.

CONCLUSION

The findings regarding the presence of age-specific features in melanoma patients, especially in the youngest and middle-aged groups, might be helpful for clinicians and to target secondary prevention efforts.

Nodular melanoma in an African American Japanese male

Nodular melanoma (NM) is the third most common subtype of melanoma among African Americans trailing behind acral lentiginous melanoma and superficial spreading melanoma. This case of NM in an African American Japanese male was selected due to the rare occurrence of NM in people of color.

A review of nevus-associated melanoma: What is the evidence?

Cutaneous melanoma may have an adjacent nevus remnant on histological examination in 30% of cases (nevus-associated melanoma, NAM), while it may appear de novo, without a precursor lesion, in the remaining 70% of cases. Nevus-associated melanoma and the concept of acquired melanocytic nevi serving as precursors of melanoma, has long been considered as a controversial topic. This controversy is, in part, due to their overall low rate of transformation to melanoma and scarce data on the natural history of progression. Another matter of debate regarded the possibility that the reported differences of NAM versus de novo melanoma, were due to an underestimation of NAM in thicker lesions due to obliteration of the nevus component by the tumour. During the last few years, several evidence has accumulated in order to address these controversies. In this review, we present a comprehensive synthesis of the epidemiological, clinical, dermoscopic and genetic findings in NAM, including thin NAM, compared to de novo melanoma. Answering the questions on nevus-associated melanoma may provide further insight on the classification of these tumours and disentangle their biology and route of development from that of de novo melanoma.

Cutaneous melanoma incidence, mortality, and survival in Manizales, Colombia: a population-based study

OBJECTIVE

We estimated the cutaneous melanoma (CM) incidence, mortality, and survival in Manizales, Colombia to establish predictors for survival.

METHODS

This analytical cohort study used CM incident cases during 2006 to 2015 in the Manizales Cancer Registry (n = 132). Incidence and mortality rates were standardized using the direct method. Patients were followed up until 30 November 2020. Cause-specific survival was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method for variables of interest, with the log-rank test for differences. Cox multivariate regression models were fitted.

RESULTS

Incidence (per 100,000) increased from 1.6 to 3.0 in men and 2.6 to 2.8 in women during 2006-2010 to 2011-2015, respectively. Mortality was low and stable. Five-year survival was 68.7%, with significant differences according to age (hazard ratio [HR] >70 vs. ≤70 years: 3.37); histological subtype (HR for melanoma not otherwise specified and HR for nodular melanoma vs lentigo malignant melanoma and superficial spreading melanoma: 17.39 and 10.16, respectively); and clinical stage (HR stages III-IV vs. stages I-II: 5.94).

CONCLUSION

CM is characterized by increasing incidence and unfavorable prognosis, particularly in patients aged >70 years, with melanoma not otherwise specified and nodular melanoma, and advanced stages. Promoting photoprotection and early detection and management of suspicious skin lesions is crucial.

Loss of 'Epidermal Melanin Unit' Integrity in Human Skin During Melanoma-Genesis

Cutaneous melanoma can be a most challenging neoplasm of high lethality, in part due to its extreme heterogeneity and characteristic aggressive and invasive nature. Indeed, its moniker 'the great masquerader' reflects that not all melanomas are created equal in terms of their originating cellular contexts, but also that melanoma cells in the malignant tumor can adopt a wide range of different cell states and variable organotropism. In this review, we focus on the early phases of melanomagenesis by discussing how the originating pigment cell of the melanocyte lineage can be influenced to embark on a wide range of tumor fates with distinctive microanatomical pathways. In particular, we assess how cells of the melanocyte lineage can differ by maturation status (stem cell; melanoblast; transiently amplifying cell; differentiated; post-mitotic; terminally-differentiated) as well as by micro-environmental niche (in the stratum basale of the epidermis; within skin appendages like hair follicle, eccrine gland, etc). We discuss how the above variable contexts may influence the susceptibility of the epidermal-melanin unit (EMU) to become unstable, which may presage cutaneous melanoma development. We also assess how unique features of follicular-melanin unit(s) (FMUs) can, by contrast, protect melanocytes from melanomagenesis. Lastly, we postulate how variable melanocyte fates in vitiligo, albinism, psoriasis, and alopecia areata may provide new insights into immune-/non immune-mediated outcomes for melanocytes in cutaneous melanin units.