Calculated tumor area provides independent prognostic value for patients with melanoma

Source: Healio, July 2019

A new two-dimensional feature called calculated tumor area appears to have effective independent prognostic value in patients with melanoma, according to a retrospective cohort study published in JAMA Dermatology.

Researchers said that studying this feature further should become a priority.

“We have now devised a newer feature, the calculated tumor area (CTA), which yields an area in square millimeters of invasive melanoma cells on the same microscopic section used for measurement of Breslow thickness,” Gerald Saldanha,MRCP, FRCPath, PhD, consultant histopathologist and honorary senior lecturer in the Leicester Cancer Research Centre at University of Leicester, United Kingdom, and colleagues wrote. “Calculated tumor area was designed for speed and simplicity so that any pathologist could measure it prospectively during routine practice.”