Findings presented at the American Academy of Dermatology summer meeting showed a similar rate of diagnosis of in situ or invasive melanoma compared with the long-term risk of invasive melanoma recurrence.
A diagnosis of invasive melanoma compared with a diagnosis of in situ melanoma had an increased risk of invasive recurrence within 2 years of diagnosis. After that 2 year window, the risk of invasive recurrence was equivalent to the risk of diagnosis of either disease.
As a result, the follow-up for patients with in situ melanoma or invasive melanoma should be identical. The 40-year retrospective study used data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program for 1973 to 2011.
Investigators identified 55,661 patients with a diagnosis of in situ melanoma, 97,614 patients with locally invasive melanoma, and 14,999 patients with regional or distant invasive melanoma. Those with a diagnosis of in situ melanoma had a hazard of invasive recurrence of 1.0, while the localized group and the regional/distant group had a hazard ratio of 1.03 and 1.08, respectively.
Diagnosis of in situ or invasive conferred a similar long-term risk of invasive melanoma recurrence.
A diagnosis of in situ or invasive melanoma conferred a similar long-term risk of invasive melanoma recurrence, a 40-year retrospective review showed.
For the first 2 years after initial diagnosis, invasive melanoma had a greater risk of invasive recurrence, as compared with an initial diagnosis of in situ disease.
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Thereafter, the risk of invasive recurrence remains the same, regardless of the initial diagnosis, Hyemin Pomerantz, MD, of Brown University in Providence, R.I., reported here at the American Academy of Dermatology summer meeting.
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