Epidemiology and Prognostic Factors of Malignant Melanoma Among 200 Asian Patients from a Single Medical Center

Abstract

Abstract With the prevalence of malignant melanoma increasing gradually and the progressive westernization of the Asian lifestyle, it is important to analyze and follow up on the characteristics of malignant melanoma at regular intervals. We identified the characteristics of malignant melanoma by analyzing consecutive patients from a single medical center. We also examined the trend of malignant melanoma and prognostic factors in Asian patients. We investigated 200 consecutive patients with malignant melanoma in a single medical center between 2000 and 2022. Each patient’s sex and age, tumor stage, site of the primary lesion, histological subtype, Breslow thickness, Clark level, and period of survival were collected from the historical medical records of the patients and analyzed. Survival analyses were performed using the Kaplan–Meier method to investigate the prognostic factors. The ratio of man-to-woman was 1:1.53; the most common site of the primary tumor was the lower extremity (60%), and acral lentiginous melanoma was the most common histological subtype (61%). Malignant melanoma commonly occurs in the lower extremities, primarily in the form of the lentiginous subtype. In situ melanomas are most prevalent regarding Breslow thickness, while Clark Level 4 is the most common type of malignant melanoma. Sex and Breslow thickness were significantly associated with the survival rate. However, others were not significant prognostic indicators for survival in this cohort. This study confirmed that the epidemiology of malignant melanoma in Asian patients was maintained without significant change. We also confirmed several significant prognostic indicators for survival.