Our clinical experience in 84 patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma

Abstract

It has been reported that incidence of cutaneous malignant melanoma is increased recent years in countries near the equator as well as north Europe. This malignancy has high mortality rate and epidemiological data for our country are either inadequate or exhibit the prevalence of specific geographical regions. In this study, we have retrospectively reviewed data from 84 patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma who admitted to Plastic Surgery Clinic of our Hospital of Medical Faculty which is large regional hospital in the our region, between Jan 1994 and May 2010 (17 years). The parameters hat we have surveyed in patients included annual distribution of patients, age, gender, occupation, location of the lesions on the body surface, presence of nevus prior to melanoma, histopathological type, Breslow thickness, mitotic activity rates, stage at the diagnosis, metastasis rates in follow-up period, micrometastasis rates in patients performed sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), metastasis rates in patients performed dissection unless SLNB. Survival rates in died patients were determined according to the stages. At the end of the study, we concluded that the incidence of cutaneous malignant melanoma in our region increase since 2007. Unfortunately, most patients were determined in stages 2 at the diagnosis. It has shown that educational programs, dermatoscopic screening and recordings are still important under the risk populations including occupational risk groups, intermittently intense sun exposed, light skinned and nevoid skin lesions wealthy individuals. Mortality and morbidity rates, as well will decrease with early diagnosis, reexcision according to Breslow thickness, regional lymph dissection according to the sentinel lymph node biopsy in Stage 1b and Stage 2 patients.