Clinical prognostic factors in case of skin melanoma
The authors have studied 5 and 10-year survival of 430 patients with primary skin melanoma undergone treatment in the oncological departments of the Khabarovsk Krai in 1990-2003. The most unfavourable prognosis appeared to occur for men with the tumours localized on the head and neck and both sexes in case of foot skin lesions. There was a large number of ulcerated melanoma. The ulceration rate directly correlated to the extent of primary tumour dissemination, and was an important universal prognostic factor. Given the ulceration, it considerably worsened the situation. The occurrence of de novo tumours and melanomas in the Khabarovsk Krai was approximately equal. In case of de novo melanoma, the prognosis for the disease was more unfavourable. This factor was more evident with respect to women.