The Impact of Stress on the Clinical Presentation of Melanoma

Abstract

The impact of major life events on the clinical presentation of melanoma was determined in a retrospective case-control analysis. There was a significantly higher occurrence of divorce or marital separation and a significantly higher occurrence of bankruptcy or unemployment in the 5 years prior to the clinical presentation of 56 melanoma patients relative to an age- and sex-matched control group of 56 general surgical patients (p less than 0.01). There was also a higher occurrence of death of a spouse or immediate family member, although this difference was not statistically significant. Overall, 26 (46 percent) of the melanoma patients had major life crises in the 5 years prior to clinical presentation, and this was highly significant (p less than 0.01). We believe that major life stress has an impact on the clinical presentation of melanoma. Potential reasons for this difference are reviewed.