Lack of Knowledge Continues to Influence Delayed Melanoma Diagnosis
Source: AJMC, December 2022
Malignant cutaneous melanoma outcomes were investigated as they relate to diagnosis delay and potential influence from socioeconomic and demographic factors in Brazil, where skin cancer diagnoses represent 30% of all cancer diagnoses.
Education surrounding malignant cutaneous melanoma (MCM) and its initial symptoms was shown to be significantly inadequate among patients and health care professionals in Brazil, which study investigators implicated as a cause of delay in the cancer’s early diagnosis and treatment, as noted in Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira.
The study cohort consisted of 103 patient records from Hospital Universitário Evangélico Mackenzie for January 2015 through December 2020, with data derived on social, economic, demographic, and cultural factors and time from symptom onset to diagnosis. Most of these records (n = 89) had all necessary information; 14 lacked socioeconomic and demographic variables (ie, occupation, family income, employees living in same household, housing conditions, education). Mean (SD) patient age was 66.34 (13.5) years, and 55.3% were female patients. The most common MCM photoype was phototype III (55.3%).