Longer surgical interval shortens RFS when residual melanoma is present

Source: Healio.com/hematology-oncology, March 2016

NEW YORK — Longer surgical interval following initial biopsy may worsen RFS outcomes in patients with residual melanoma, according to a retrospective review presented at HemOnc Today Melanoma and Cutaneous Malignancies.

Surgical interval, defined as the time from initial biopsy to definitive excision, does not appear to affect outcomes for patients with melanoma; however, the impact of prolonged surgical interval when residual melanoma is present after initial biopsy is unknown.

Ashlie Nadler, MD, a surgical oncology fellow at Fox Chase Cancer Center, and colleagues reviewed data from 179 patients (median age, 61 years; 51% male) treated for nonmetastatic cutaneous melanoma to assess how surgical intervention in combination with presence of residual melanoma can affect prognosis.