Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015 Apr-Jun;8(2):132-41.

Controversies in the diagnosis and treatment of early cutaneous melanoma

O A Orzan  1 , A Șandru  2 , C R Jecan  3
Affiliations
Review

Controversies in the diagnosis and treatment of early cutaneous melanoma

O A Orzan et al. J Med Life. 2015 Apr-Jun.

Abstract

Cutaneous melanoma (CM) is a disease with an unpredictable evolution mainly due to its high metastatic ability. The steadily increasing incidence and the poor outcome in advanced stages made this cancer an interesting field for many research groups. Given that CM is a curable disease in early stages, efforts have been made to detect it as soon as possible, which led to the diversification and refining of diagnosis methods and therapies. But, as the data from trials have been published, doubts about the indications and efficacy of established treatments have arisen. In fact, there is probably no single aspect of early CM that has not given birth to controversy. This article intends to present the current disputes regarding the early detection, diagnosis, treatment and postoperative follow-up of patients with localized CM. After analyzing both pros and cons, several conclusions were drawn, that reflect our experience in managing patients with early CM.

Keywords: diagnosis; early cutaneous melanoma; follow-up; treatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Excision of suspicious lesion with 3 mm margin
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A 33-year-old woman with melanoma of the neck with a Breslow depth of 2,4 mm. (A) Site after initial excisional biopsy, (B) a 20 mm margin wide excision, (C) local defect after excision and sentinel lymph node, (D) Limberg fasciocutaneous flap for reconstruction, (E) wide excision and lymph node specimen
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Weinstock MA. Early detection of melanoma. JAMA. 2000 Aug 16;284(7):886–889. - PubMed
    1. Dzwierzynski WW. Managing malignant melanoma. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2013 Sep;132(3):446e–460e. - PubMed
    1. Nestle FO, Kerl H. Melanoma In Dermatology. by Bolognia J, Jorrizo J, Rapini R. Mosby. 2003:1789–1815.
    1. Lesage C, Barbe C, Le Clainche A, Lesage FX, Bernard P, Grange F. Sex-related location of head and neck melanoma strongly argues for a major role of sun exposure in cars and photoprotection by hair. J Invest Dermatol. 2013 May;133(5):1205–1211. - PubMed
    1. Balch CM, Gershenwald JE, Soong SJ, Thompson JF, Atkins MB, Byrd DR, Buzaid AC, Cochran AJ, Coit DG, Ding S, Eggermont AM, Flaherty KT, Gimotty PA, Kirkwood JM, McMasters KM, Mihm MC Jr, Morton DL, Ross MI, Sober AJ, Sondak VK. Final version of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system for cutaneous melanoma. J J Clin Oncol. 2009 Dec 20;27(36):6199–6206. - PMC - PubMed