A CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL CORRELATION OF 134 STAGE-1 AND 79 NONINVASIVE CUTANEOUS MELANOMAS PRESENTING OVER A DECADE (1984-1993) AT THE MATER-MISERICORDIAE-HOSPITAL, DUBLIN
B. Odonnell et al., A CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL CORRELATION OF 134 STAGE-1 AND 79 NONINVASIVE CUTANEOUS MELANOMAS PRESENTING OVER A DECADE (1984-1993) AT THE MATER-MISERICORDIAE-HOSPITAL, DUBLIN, Irish journal of medical science, 167(3), 1998, pp. 132-135
In a study of malignant melanoma during the period 1984-1993, 134 (63
per cent) had invasive melanoma and in 79 (37 per cent) melanoma was c
onfined to the epidermis (in situ), There was female predominance, F :
M = 2.4 : 1, a family history of melanoma in 1.5 per cent, a mean age
at diagnosis of 50 yr, Females presented a decade earlier than males
on average. Over half of invasive melanomas in females occurred on low
er limbs; 40 per cent of lesions in males occurred on the trunk, Almos
t one third of lesions in males and over two thirds in females occurre
d in sun exposed area. Sixty per cent of invasive lesions were of the
superficial spreading type and half of all lesions were histologically
thin [less than 1.5 mm vertical depth], Surprisingly, median lesion t
hickness was lower in males, probably reflecting the greater frequency
of nodular lesions in females compared to males (36 per cent -v- 24 p
er cent). The marked increase in the number of invasive melanoma patie
nts presenting in the second half of the decade studied (treble that o
f the first half) probably reflects an increase in melanoma incidence.
Over the decade no change in invasive melanoma type, anatomical site
or histological thickness was noted, the latter suggesting a failure t
o diagnose melanoma at an increasingly earlier stage. An official mela
noma public education programme is required, particularly as half of t
he patients delayed 1 yr or more before seeking medical advice. Howeve
r it is encouraging that, of the invasive melanomas, 30 per cent were
small (<10mm), 50 per cent were histologically thin and that 37 per ce
nt of all melanomas were in situ, The melanoma-in-situ group had a sim
ilar gender ratio and mean age at diagnosis to the invasive melanoma p
atients but lesions were smaller, were predominantly on the head, neck
and limbs with lentigo melanoma as the commonest type.