Second Primary Melanoma: Risk Factors, Histopathologic Features, Survival, and Implications for Follow-Up

Am Surg. 2016 Oct;82(10):1009-1013.

Abstract

The impact on survival of a second primary melanoma (SPM) is unclear. We used our melanoma center's database to examine clinicopathologic risk factors and outcomes of stage 0 to IV cutaneous melanoma in patients with one versus two primaries. Among 12,325 patients with primary melanoma, 969 (7.86%) developed SPM. SPMs were significantly thinner than autologous primary melanomas (P = 0.01), and 451 SPM patients had better overall and melanoma-specific survival than 451 prognostically matched non-SPM patients (P < 0.0001 and 0.0001, respectively) at a median follow-up of 142.37 months. Patients with cutaneous melanoma are at high risk for development of SPM, but the development of SPM does not seem to impair survival.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • California
  • Databases, Factual
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Melanoma / mortality*
  • Melanoma / pathology*
  • Melanoma / physiopathology
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasms, Second Primary / mortality*
  • Neoplasms, Second Primary / pathology*
  • Neoplasms, Second Primary / physiopathology
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Assessment
  • Sex Factors
  • Skin Neoplasms / mortality*
  • Skin Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Skin Neoplasms / physiopathology
  • Survival Analysis
  • Time Factors