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
Multicenter Study
. 2022 Nov;47(11):1976-1981.
doi: 10.1111/ced.15324. Epub 2022 Sep 9.

Clinicopathological characteristics of individuals with coexisting melanoma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: a multicentre cohort study

Rachel Mary Fisher  1 , Antonio Ji-Xu  1   2 , Rachel Abbott  3 , Tanya Basu  4 , Alistair Brown  5 , Catherine Foley  6 , Catriona Glen  7 , Girish Gupta  7 , Zeeshaan Hasan  8 , Ferina Ismail  9 , Amina Khalid  10 , Andre B S Khoo  11 , Dimitra Koumaki  9 , Aoife Lally  6 , John T Lear  11 , Emily Jane McGrath  5 , Kein McKenna  12 , Alan Milligan  9 , Orlagh Mulholland  12 , Fiona Tasker  4 , Catherine A Harwood  8 , Charlotte M Proby  10 , Rubeta N Matin  1
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Clinicopathological characteristics of individuals with coexisting melanoma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: a multicentre cohort study

Rachel Mary Fisher et al. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Individuals with a prior diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) have a higher risk of developing melanoma and exhibit poorer outcomes than patients without CLL. However, there are limited data reporting the clinicopathological features of melanoma diagnosed in patients with CLL.

Aims: To review clinicopathological characteristics of patients with coexisting diagnoses of melanoma and CLL.

Methods: A retrospective review was undertaken for patients with coexisting diagnoses of melanoma and CLL between 2005 and 2015 in 11 centres in the UK and Ireland.

Results: Overall, 46 cutaneous melanomas identified in 45 patients were included. In 28 (62.2%) patients, melanoma was diagnosed after an existing diagnosis of CLL. In this group, mean Breslow thickness was 2.7 mm (range 0.2-25 mm). Ten patients (35.7%) developed locoregional recurrence and 8 (28.6%) developed distant metastases. Melanoma-specific mortality was 5 of 28 (17.9%) and all-cause mortality was 13 of 28 (46.4%). In 17 patients, melanoma was diagnosed before CLL. In this group, mean BT was 2.9 mm (range 0.4-14 mm); five patients (29.4%) developed locoregional recurrence and three (17.6%) developed distant metastases. Melanoma-specific mortality was 1 of 17 (5.8%) and all-cause mortality was 5 of 17 (29.4%) in this group.

Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first and largest cohort study to report clinicopathological data of coexisting melanoma and CLL in the UK and Ireland. Although the thickness of primary melanoma was not different before or after a CLL diagnosis, melanoma recurrence and melanoma-specific mortality appear to be more common in patients with a prior diagnosis of CLL.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Brewer D, Habermann TM, Shanafelt TD. Lymphoma-associated skin cancer: incidence, natural history, and clinical management. Int J Dermatol 2013; 53: 267-74.
    1. Farma JM, Zager JS, Barnica-Elvir V et al. A collision of diseases: chronic lymphocytic leukaemia discovered during lymph node biopsy for melanoma. Ann Surg Oncol 2012; 20: 1360-4.
    1. Brewer JD, Shanafelt TD, Call TG et al. Increased incidence of malignant melanoma and other rare cutaneous cancers in the setting of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Int J Dermatol 2015; 54: e287-93.
    1. Turk T, Saad AM, Al-Husseini MJ, Gad MM. The risk of melanoma in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia; a population based study. Curr Probl Cancer 2020; 44: 100511.
    1. Brewer JD, Shanafelt TD, Otley CC et al. Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia is associated with decreased survival of patients with malignant melanoma and Merkel cell carcinoma in a SEER population-based study. J Clin Oncol 2012; 30: 843-9.

Publication types

MeSH terms