Melanoma incidence in Australian commercial pilots, 2011-2016.

Objectives: Occupational exposure to cosmic and ultraviolet radiation may increase airline pilots' risk of cutaneous melanoma. Meta-analyses of available data show a higher than average incidence of melanoma in airline pilots, but the most recent systematic review revealed that few contemporary data are available. Moreover, all relevant studies have been conducted in Northern Hemisphere populations.

Adjuvant bevacizumab for melanoma patients at high risk of recurrence: survival analysis of the AVAST-M trial.

Background: Bevacizumab is a recombinant humanised monoclonal antibody to vascular endothelial growth factor shown to improve survival in advanced solid cancers. We evaluated the role of adjuvant bevacizumab in melanoma patients at high risk of recurrence.

Patients And Methods: Patients with resected AJCC stage IIB, IIC and III cutaneous melanoma were randomised to receive either adjuvant bevacizumab (7.

Surgical excision margins in primary cutaneous melanoma: A meta-analysis and Bayesian probability evaluation.

Background: Surgery is the only curative treatment for primary cutaneous melanoma, therefore it is important to determine excision margins that minimise risk of local recurrence, distant recurrence and death.

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane CENTRAL were searched from 2009 to 2015. Inclusion criteria were: population/setting - patients with primary melanoma; comparison - narrow versus wide margins; outcomes - overall survival, melanoma-specific survival, recurrence-free survival, and loco-regional recurrence; design - randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Inflammatory cell distribution in primary merkel cell carcinoma.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive poorly differentiated neuroendocrine cutaneous carcinoma associated with older age, immunodeficiency and Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) integrated within malignant cells. The presence of intra-tumoural CD8+ lymphocytes reportedly predicts better MCC-specific survival. In this study, the distribution of inflammatory cells and properties of CD8+ T lymphocytes within 20 primary MCC specimens were characterised using immunohistochemistry and multicolour immunofluorescent staining coupled to confocal microscopy.

Deletion at chromosome arm 9p in relation to BRAF/NRAS mutations and prognostic significance for primary melanoma.

We report an investigation of gene dosage at 9p21.3 and mutations in BRAF and NRAS, as predictors of relapse and histological markers of poor melanoma prognosis. Formalin-fixed primary melanomas from 74 relapsed and 42 nonrelapsed patients were sequenced for common BRAF and NRAS mutations (N = 71 results) and gene dosage at 9p21.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels are associated with breslow thickness at presentation and survival from melanoma.

Purpose: A cohort study was carried out to test the hypothesis that higher vitamin D levels reduce the risk of relapse from melanoma.

Methods: A pilot retrospective study of 271 patients with melanoma suggested that vitamin D may protect against recurrence of melanoma. We tested these findings in a survival analysis in a cohort of 872 patients recruited to the Leeds Melanoma Cohort (median follow-up, 4.

Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, and melanoma: UK case-control comparisons and a meta-analysis of published VDR data.

We have carried out melanoma case-control comparisons for six vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) levels in order to investigate the role of vitamin D in melanoma susceptibility. There was no significant evidence of an association between any VDR SNP and risk in 1028 population-ascertained cases and 402 controls from Leeds, UK. In a second Leeds case-control study (299 cases and 560 controls) the FokI T allele was associated with increased melanoma risk (odds ratio (OR) 1.

Environmental risk factors for relapse of melanoma.

Aim: To identify lifestyle factors affecting risk of relapse.

Methods: A comparison of 131 relapsed melanoma patients with 147 non-relapsers.

Results: Relapsers were more likely to report financial hardship using a number of different measures including access to holidays and feeling financially insecure (odds ratio (OR) 5.

The prevention, diagnosis, referral and management of melanoma of the skin: concise guidelines.

Melanoma of the skin is an increasingly common tumour, which often has a slow early growth rate during which curable lesions may be detected and removed. Physicians therefore have the potential to reduce mortality and this guideline is intended to promote early diagnosis of melanoma. The majority of melanomas occur in white-skinned people.

Melanoma histopathology reporting: are we complying with the National Minimum Dataset?

Background: The Royal College of Pathologists introduced the National Minimum Dataset (NMDS) for the histopathological reporting of cutaneous melanoma in February 2002.

Aim: To determine if histological reporting of invasive primary cutaneous melanoma in the West Midlands region of the UK was compliant with the NMDS.

Methods: Reports were identified from March 2002 to March 2003 via the regional Cancer Intelligence Unit, and compared with the NMDS.