Risk for 20-year melanoma-related death increases significantly for patients with primary tumors of 0.8 to 1.0 mm in thickness, according to a study published online in JAMA Dermatology.
Serigne N. Lo, PhD, from the University of Sydney, and colleagues assessed the relative effect of a 0.8-mm Breslow thickness threshold concerning the incidence of both melanoma-related and non-melanoma-related death. The analysis included registry data for 144,447 people diagnosed with thin invasive primary melanomas from 1982 to 2014.
The researchers found that crude incidence rates of melanoma-related death 20 years after diagnosis were 6.3% for the whole cohort, 6.0% for tumors less than 0.8 mm, and 12.0% for tumors 0.8 to 1.0 mm. The corresponding 20-year melanoma-specific survival rates were 91.9% overall and 94.2% and 87.8%, respectively, across tumor sizes. Tumor thickness of 0.8 to 1.0 mm was significantly associated with both a greater absolute risk for melanoma-related death, as well as a greater rate of melanoma-related death, compared to thinner tumors.
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