SUPERIOR SURVIVAL OF YOUNG-WOMEN WITH MALIGNANT-MELANOMA

BACKGROUND: The Commission on Cancer data from the National Cancer Dat a Base (NCDB) relating to patients with malignant melanoma are used to examine patterns of long-term survival by patient gender and age, sta ge of disease, disease morphology, and anatomic subsite. METHODS: Five calls for data have yielded more than 3,700,000 cases of cancer for t he years 1985 through 1993, including 23,341 cases of malignant melano ma between 1985 and 1989, from hospital cancer registries across the U S, representing slightly less than a quarter of all melanoma cases dia gnosed in the US between 1985 and 1989. RESULTS: Three statements can be made from this data: (1) There is little difference in the frequenc y of malignant melanoma between men and women with respect to stage of disease or morphology, However, differences between the genders do ap pear with respect to the anatomic subsite of melanotic tumors. (2) Ove rall, young women (45 years of age and under) enjoy superior survival rates when compared with older women (55 years of age and older) and m en of any age. (3) The survival advantage held by young women is parti cularly pronounced among patients diagnosed with advanced stage diseas e. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that factors present in younger wom en may be critical in the superior survival rates seen among premenopa usal women and might be hormonal in nature. (C) 1998 by Excerpta Medic a, Inc.