Late relapse from cutaneous stage I malignant melanoma
H. M. Shaw, C. W. Beattie, W. H. McCarthy and G. W. Milton
In 1,283 patients with cutaneous stage I malignant melanoma who had ten or
more years of follow-up, the incidence of late recurrence (first evidence
of metastases occurring ten or more years after melanoma diagnosis) was
2.7%. None of the factors of prognostic importance (anatomic site, tumor
thickness, ulcerative state of primary lesion, or initial surgical
treatment) proved useful in predicting those patients with late recurrence.
There was no sex or age difference in either incidence of late recurrence
or prognosis subsequent to recurrence. Prognosis subsequent to late
recurrence depended on the site of the recurrence. Survival after distant
metastases became evident was extremely short. However, in the majority
(53%) of patients, late recurrence was local and survival subsequent to
treatment of these metastases was often protracted, emphasizing the
importance of long-term follow-up in all patients with cutaneous melanoma.
