[Characteristics of patients with recurrence of primary melanoma at least 10 years following surgical treatment].

OBJECTIVE

Assessment of incidence and risk factors of late recurrence (after a disease-free interval of at least 10 years) following treatment for primary melanoma.

METHODS

Retrospective study taking into account a total of 2579 melanoma patients admitted to the Netherlands Cancer Institute/Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Huis in the period 1956 to 1991; patients with ocular melanoma were excluded.

RESULTS

Twenty-three patients had a disease-free interval of at least 10 years (median 11 years; range: 10-21) after treatment for primary melanoma: 17 women and 6 men, with a median age of 43 years (20-62). This group predominantly consisted of women with a primary melanoma localised on the extremities. Most of them had melanomas of intermediate thickness (Breslow thickness: 1-2 mm). Patients with a first recurrence locoregionally (16) had a 5-year survival rate of over 50%; 6 of the 7 patients with a first relapse at distant sites died within a few months.

CONCLUSION

Melanoma patients who are discharged from follow-up after a disease-free interval of 10 years are advised to continue loco-regional self-examination.