Following statistical analysis of 6,016 cases of melanoma, the authors found that independent survival predictors of cutaneous melanoma in Hispanic patients were largely similar to those of non-Hispanic white patients studied previously. Interestingly, one of the exceptions to this was the site of melanoma on the lower extremity, which was found to be a negative prognostic factor in this study.
Clinical Pearls
This retrospective cohort study sought to better understand survival predictors in Hispanic patients diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma
The authors searched the National Cancer Database for cases of biopsy-confirmed, invasive melanoma diagnosed in Hispanic patients between the years 2004 and 2018
Following statistical analysis of 6,016 cases of melanoma, the authors found that independent survival predictors of cutaneous melanoma in Hispanic patients were largely similar to those of non-Hispanic white patients studied previously. Interestingly, one of the exceptions to this was the site of melanoma on the lower extremity, which was found to be a negative prognostic factor in this study
Discussion:
In this research letter published in the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology, the authors analyzed survival predictors in Hispanic patients diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma. Of note, the authors touched upon how Hispanic ethnicity itself is a known negative prognostic factor for cutaneous melanoma.
Using the National Cancer Database, the authors searched for all biopsy-confirmed cases of cutaneous melanoma diagnosed in Hispanic patients without prior malignancies between the years 2004 and 2018. This resulted in 6,016 cases of melanoma in which ~52% were men, the most common site was the lower extremity (32%), and the most common subtype was malignant melanoma – unspecified (57%). The mean overall survival calculated using Kaplan Meier analysis was 11.1 years (95% CI: 10.9 – 11.3). The authors also used a multivariate Cox regression model to adjust for confounding factors which showed that an independently increased hazard of death was found in tumors on men; tumors with primary sites involving the lower extremity, head and neck, and those with location not specified; and lack of insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, or other government insurance.
Following further analysis, the authors found that independent survival predictors of cutaneous melanoma associated with increased mortality in Hispanics were largely similar to those of non-Hispanic white individuals using data from a separate study. An exception to this was that having the primary site on the lower extremity was a negative prognostic factor in Hispanics, however, was found in a prior study to be a positive prognostic factor in Non-Hispanic Whites. The authors suggested this may be due to higher observed rates of acral lentiginous melanoma in Hispanic patients.
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