Head and neck cutaneous melanoma: 5-year survival analysis in a Serbian university center

• Published in: World journal of surgical oncology Vol. 18; no. 1; p. 312
• Main Authors: Višnjić, Aleksandar, Kovačević, Predrag, Veličkov, Asen, Stojanović, Mariola, Mladenović, Stefan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 29-11-2020; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Age; Biopsy; Care and treatment; Committees; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dependent variables; Development and progression; Dissection; Evaluation; Gender; Head and neck; Head and neck cancer; Head and Neck Neoplasms - surgery; Health aspects; Humans; Independent variables; Lymphatic drainage; Lymphatic system; Males; Medical prognosis; Melanoma; Melanoma - pathology; Melanoma - surgery; Metastases; Metastasis; Neoplasm Staging; Oncology; Patients; Predictors; Prognosis; Quality of life; Regression analysis; Retrospective Studies; Skin Neoplasms - pathology; Skin Neoplasms - surgery; Statistical analysis; Surgery; Survival; Survival Analysis; Survival Rate; Tumors; Universities; Vascularization; Serbia; Head and neck; Survival; Melanoma; Predictors
• ISSN: 1477-7819; 1477-7819
• DOI: 10.1186/s12957-020-02091-4

Head and neck melanoma (HNM) is specific from the anatomical and etiopathogenetic aspects. In addition to morphopathological parameters, rich vascularization and lymphatic drainage of the head and neck affect the occurrence of lymphogenic and hematogenous metastases, as well as the metastases on both sides of the neck.
A retrospective cross-sectional study included cutaneous melanoma patients who underwent surgery at a clinical center over a 10-year period. The clinical follow-up was at least 60 months. The Kaplan-Meier method was used for the survival analysis. The predictor effect of certain independent variables on a given dichotomous dependent variable (survival) was measured by the Cox regression analysis.
The analysis of demographic and clinical characteristics of 116 patients with HNM revealed that there was no statistically significant difference in age and gender in the total sample. Thirty-three (28.45%) patients were already in stage III or IV of the disease at the first examination, which affected the overall survival rate. The overall 5-year survival was 30.2%. No statistically significant difference in 5-year survival was found in relation to age and location. The period without melanoma progression decreased progressively in the advanced stage. Forty-nine patients (42%) underwent surgery for lymphogenic metastases in the parotid region and/or neck during the follow-up.
Patients with HNM included in this study frequently presented an advanced stage of the disease at the first examination, which is reflected in a low rate of 5-year survival. Early diagnosis and adequate primary treatment can ensure longer survival.