Fatores prognósticos de melanoma cutâneo em um estudo de base populacional em Goiânia

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2008

RESUMO

Melanoma is a cancer that affects mostly the skin. It is the 3rd most frequent type of cancer, after basal cell carcinomas and squamous carcinomas and is clinically characterized by the presence of an irregular hyperchromic macula. It is considered the most serious type of skin cancer because it induces metastases more frequently, the mortality rate is high, especially in lesions diagnosed at a later stage, and finally because it is resistant to the therapeutic options currently available (chemotherapy and radiotherapy).This study aims to describe prognostic factors of patients with cutaneous melanoma, listed in the Population-Based Cancer Registry of Goiânia (RCBPG), from January, 1998 to December, 2003. During that period of time, 245 new cases of melanoma were recorded. From these 245 cases, 185 were included in the study as these individuals with cutaneous melanoma lived in the county of Goiânia. The remaining 60 individuals were excluded because they presented with a melanoma with an unknown primary, ocular melanoma, melanoma of the mucosa, genital melanoma, visceral melanoma or because they lived in another county. RCBPG data from the patients with a diagnosis of primary cutaneous melanoma were obtained by means of a questionnaire and served to perform a population-base cohort descriptive study. The prognostic importance of four histological variables (Breslow, Clark, histogenic type and number of primary neoplasms) and three clinical variables (sex, lesion site and extension) were studied in the series of 185 patients with cutaneous melanoma. The results of this study showed that men presented with thicker melanomas, when compared to women. This information translated into higher mortality and shorter survival time for male individuals. Lesions located in the trunk, followed by those in the head and neck were more frequently found in men and lesions in the lower limbs, followed by locations in the head and neck were more commonly found in women. A head and neck location was more frequent in men and women above 60 years of age. Extensive superficial melanomas were the predominant histogenic type. Nodular melanomas were the second more frequent types (17%) and were associated to thicker tumors. The most frequent extension was the in situ cutaneous melanoma. Distant metastases were more frequent than those in loco or regional, for lymph nodes. During the time this study was conducted, no sentinel lymph node biopsies were performed to evaluate micrometastases of melanomas and this may have contributed to the result. The main characteristics of patients and of tumors related to the worst prognosis were: nodular melanomas (RH: 5,11; p=0,001), thicker tumors (>1.70 mm) (RH:12,7; p≥0,02) and those located in the feet (RH:4,84; p=0,005). These factors contributed to more deaths and a shorter survival time of the patients included in this study. The increase in the Clark level showed a direct relationship to a higher number of deaths, with a shorter survival time. However, this was not translated as a negative association with the worst prognosis in this study.

ASSUNTO(S)

câncer ciencias da saude

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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