Timely treatment of melanoma helps improve patient survival
Source: MIMS Dermatology, October 2022
Delays in the treatment of melanoma may worsen overall (OM) and melanoma-specific mortality (MSM), suggest the results of a recent study.
A team of investigators conducted a population-based analysis to explore the effect of surgical treatment delays on MSM and OM. They identified patients with stage I to III cutaneous melanoma through the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (n=108,689). Eligible patients had time from diagnosis to definitive surgery and follow-up time.
Finally, the impact of treatment delays on mortality was assessed through Cox proportional hazards and Fine-Gray competing risks analyses.