Does the site of a Malignant melanoma predict the likelihood of distant metastases

Abstract

Introduction: Malignant melanoma is a lethal skin cancer which is on the rise despite increasing education on sun awareness. It is most common in young Caucasian individuals however any age or ethnicity can be affected. Discussion: There are four main types of malignant melanoma which include superficial spreading MM (most common), Nodular (most lethal), Acral lentignous melanoma and Lentigo maligna melanoma. Once it has metastasized the prognosis is poor but new treatments are giving us much better outcomes. Aim: The main aim of this study is to identify which MMs are most likely to metastasize based on the location with the two main groups being above neck and below neck. Methods and results: forty-five patients were included in the study, 37 were below neck and 8 were above neck. Out of the 37 below neck MM patients, none had distant metastases , but 25% of the above neck MM patients had distant metastases. Conclusion: This small study has demonstrated that above neck malignant melanoma is more likely to metastasize than below neck malignant melanoma despite advanced Tumor scores in the below neck subgroup.