Melanoma incidence increases in the elderly of Catalonia but not in the younger population: effect of prevention or consequence of immigration?

All cases of MM diagnosed in 23 hospitals in Catalonia, from 2000 to 2007 were recorded and melanoma incidence calculated and adjusted for the European standard population via the direct method. The age standardised rate/100,000 inhabitants varied from 6.74 in 2000 to 8.

[Initial evaluation, diagnosis, staging, treatment, and follow-up of patients with primary cutaneous malignant melanoma. Consensus statement of the Network of Catalan and Balearic Melanoma Centers].

The consensus statement on the management of primary cutaneous melanoma that we present here was based on selection, discussion, review, and comparison of recent literature (including national and international guidelines). The protocols for the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up used in the hospital centers throughout Catalonia and the Balearic Isles belonging to the Network of Catalan and Balearic Melanoma Centers were also considered. The main objective of this statement was to present the overall management of melanoma patients typically used in our region at the present time.

Management of primary cutaneous melanoma of the hands and feet: a clinicoprognostic study.

Background: Although acral lentiginous melanoma is the most common subtype of malignant melanoma in acral locations, the term acral melanoma (AM) has to be differentiated from the histopathologic description.

Objectives: To characterize the clinical and pathologic features of patients with a primary AM and to elucidate whether the prognosis of patients with AM differs from that of those with melanoma at other sites (nonacral melanoma; NAM).

Patients And Method: Over a 20-year period, a series of 822 consecutive patients with melanoma were recorded in the database.

Molecular staging of pathologically negative sentinel lymph nodes from melanoma patients using multimarker, quantitative real-time rt-PCR.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic potential of quantitative reverse-transcription, polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in melanoma patients with pathologically negative sentinel lymph nodes (SLN). Our study included 195 node-negative melanoma patients with a Breslow thickness greater than 0.76 mm (n = 158), or less than 0.

[The role of sentinel lymph node biopsy in the diagnosis and prognosis of malignant melanoma].

Sentinel lymph node biopsy was introduced into the management of cancer patients 20 years ago. Most hospitals now currently use the technique as a routine diagnostic tool in patients with localized malignant melanoma. However, the technique is complex and numerous details need to be determined and assessed to provide reliable diagnostic and prognostic information.