Medical mismanagement may contribute to worse survival outcomes for invasive melanoma
Source: Healio, December 2024
Key takeaways:
- Patients with upstaged tumors saw an overall mortality rate of 36% vs. 19.5% in their non-upstaged counterparts.
- Only 20.83% of tumors that needed re-excision underwent additional surgery.
A study found multiple factors that contributed to invasive melanoma tumor upstaging as well as higher mortality rates among patients with upstaged tumors, one of which is medical management.
According to a study conducted by Amanda Rosenthal, MD, a micrographic surgery and dermatologic oncology fellow at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, and colleagues, the clinical implication and prognostic outcomes associated with tumor upstaging in invasive melanoma are worse than clinicians previously thought.