Abstract
PurposeTo calculate the overall incidence of uveal melanoma in Germany and to compare incidences in different German states. In addition, we computed the overall and cancer-specific survival rates nationwide.MethodsIncidence data for the period between 2009 and 2015, covering the entire German population, was collected through the German Center for Cancer Registry. ICD-O-3 topography codes C69.3-C69.4 and histology codes for melanoma subtypes were used to collect the incidence data. Confidence Intervals with a level of 95% (95% CI) were calculated for rates. Survival was calculated using the Kaplan–Meier. The log-rank test was used for survival comparisons.ResultsThis study comprised 3654 patients with uveal melanomas, including 467 (12.8%) with iridial and ciliary body tumors. The overall age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) was 6.41 person per million. Generally, the ASIR was higher in males than females (6.67 (95% CI 6.37–6.98) vs. 6.16 (95% CI 5.88–6.45 per million). Higher crude incidence rates were noted in the northeastern states (12.5 per million (95% CI 10.5–14.7) in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) compared with the southwestern states (2.1 per million (95% CI 1.7–2.6) in Hessen). The 5-year overall survival stood at 47%, while the cancer-specific survival stood at 84%. Multivariate analysis showed that women, younger patients, and patients living in Berlin achieved significantly higher overall survival.ConclusionOverall ASIR of uveal melanoma in Germany indicates that the disease is more common in males and that it follows the same geographical distribution previously noted in central European countries, with the highest incidence in northern parts of Germany.
Highlights
Uveal melanoma is the most common adulthood primary ocular malignancy [1]
Of the 3654 uveal melanoma diagnoses reviewed in this study, 3187 (87.2%) were choroidal melanomas (Table 1)
The overall age-standardized incidence of uveal melanoma was 6.41 per million
Summary
Uveal melanoma is the most common adulthood primary ocular malignancy [1]. It most frequently arises from the choroid and less commonly from the ciliary body and iris. White population and males were shown to have higher incidences of the disease [5]. Higher latitudes were associated with increased incidence of uveal melanoma in the USA [6]. We expected to find a disparity in incidences of uveal melanoma and treatment outcomes between eastern and western states, including Saarland. We aimed at determining the crude and age-standardized incidence rates of uveal melanoma in Germany at the national level between 2009 and 2015. We further aimed to investigate disease characteristics and treatment outcomes including the nationwide overall and cancer-specific survival rates of uveal melanoma patients
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