New prognostic factors may predict survival for patients with thin melanoma

New prognostic factors may help to predict survival in patients diagnosed with thin melanoma, recent study findings suggest.

Researchers with Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, reviewed data from 2,243 patients with thin melanoma, using multivariable Cox regression to investigate survival predictors, according to the study. Median follow-up was 124 months, and 12-year overall survival was 85.3 percent (95 percent confidence interval 83.4-87.2 percent).

The worst prognosis categories for thin melanoma were patients older than age 60, Breslow thickness more than 0.75 mm, mitoic rate of 1 or higher, presence of ulceration, lymphovascular invasion, and regression of 50 percent or more. Researchers used age, ulceration, mitotic rate, lymphovascular invasion, regression and sentinel node status to construct a nomogram to predict 12-year overall survival. They noted the nomogram was well calibrated and had good discriminative ability.

“Our findings suggest including LVI (lymphovascular invasion) and regression as new prognostic factors in the melanoma staging system,” study authors concluded. “The nomogram appears useful for risk stratification in clinical management and for recruiting patients to clinical trials.”

The findings were published online July 7 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.