Open Access
CC BY-NC 4.0 · Arch Plast Surg 2014; 41(02): 122-125
DOI: 10.5999/aps.2014.41.2.122
Original Article

Effect of Biopsy Technique on the Survival Rate of Malignant Melanoma Patients

Yutaro Yamashita
Departments of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Dermatology, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan
,
Ichiro Hashimoto
Departments of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Dermatology, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan
,
Yoshiro Abe
Departments of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Dermatology, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan
,
Takuya Seike
Departments of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Dermatology, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan
,
Katsumasa Okawa
Departments of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Dermatology, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan
,
Yuichi Senzaki
Departments of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Dermatology, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan
,
Kazutoshi Murao
Departments of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Dermatology, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan
,
Yoshiaki Kubo
Departments of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Dermatology, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan
,
Hideki Nakanishi
Departments of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Dermatology, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan
› Institutsangaben
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Background Cutaneous malignant melanoma has a poor prognosis. The detrimental effect of incisional biopsies on the outcome of malignant melanoma has been debated. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the presence and type of biopsy on the prognosis of malignant melanoma.

Methods The medical records of 109 malignant melanoma patients treated at Tokushima University Hospital from 1983 to 2007 were reviewed. After excluding 28 cases with stage 0 disease or incomplete data, 81 cases were analyzed in detail with respect to patient sex, age, tumor site, clinical stage at diagnosis, presence of ulceration or lymph node metastasis, and prognosis. The five-year survival and five-year disease-free survival rates of patients who underwent incisional or excisional biopsies were compared with those who did not undergo a biopsy.

Results The male-to-female ratio was 1:1.19. The mean age was 61.3 years (range, 19-93 years). The most common site was a lower extremity, and the most common clinical stage was stage II. No significant differences in clinicopathological features, five-year survival rates, and five-year disease-free survival rates were observed among the three groups.

Conclusions The presence and type of biopsy neither affected the metastatic rate nor the prognosis of malignant melanoma. The use of incisional biopsies is not encouraged because tumor thickness cannot be measured accurately. However, they may be helpful for confirming the diagnosis if an excisional biopsy cannot be performed.

*The first two authors have contributed equally to this work.




Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 14. Oktober 2013

Angenommen: 03. Januar 2014

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
02. Mai 2022

© 2014. The Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, permitting unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

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