Abstract
Melanoma incidence rates riseas people age, but the impact of aging on distant metastasis is unclear. To investigate how timing, pattern, and extent of distant metastasis is influenced by age. Analysis of a single-center cohort of 1457 patients of the German Central Malignant Melanoma Registry with prospectively documented follow-up. Findings were compared with those for 1682 patients from 5 different institutions. All patients presented initially with stage IA to IIC and developed distant metastasis in their further disease course. The number of metastatic sites decreased with increasing age at melanoma diagnosis (P<.001). The rate of stage M1d disease decreased from 50.2% in patients aged 50years or younger to 30.1% in patients older than 70years, and the rate of stage M1b disease increased from 5.8% to 21.5%. The rate of lung metastases remained stable in all investigated age groups (P=.54). Distant metastases occurred earlier and were more synchronized in patients older than 70years than in patients aged 50years or younger. An age-dependent decrease in metastatic sites and stable rate of lung metastasis were found and confirmed by data on the multi-institutional cohort. The study was not population based. Pattern, timing, and extent of distant metastasis change as people age. These findings may be considered when treating patients with melanoma of different ages.
Published Version
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