title: Clinical stages of cutaneous malignant melanoma in Bulgaria.
abstract: The aim of the study was to investigate the distribution of the newly diagnosed cases with cutaneous malignant melanoma by clinical stages in Bulgaria over the period 1993-1995 as a reason for improving both mclanoma prevention and control. Over the period 827 new cases with cutaneous malignant melanoma are registered in the country. A representative sample of 671 cases has been taken. The cases with a localized melanoma (Stage I and II) were prevalent - 509 (75.8% of all studied cases). The thick melanomas (Stage IIB) were most frequently encountered among the primary lesions. They were 207 cases (30.8%). The thin melanomas (Stage IA) were only 41 (6.1%). The proportion of the cases with nodal and in-transit metastases (Stage III) -122 (18.2%) and the proportion of the cases with distant metastases (Stage IV) -40 (6.0%) were quite high. The analysis of the results shows that the cases with cutaneous malignant melanoma in Bulgaria are detected quite late. The cases with early-diagnosed melanoma are prevalent among women, young persons and urban population, and the cases with advanced melanoma are more frequent among men, persons older than 50 and rural population.
authors.affiliation: National Oncological Center, Sofia, Bulgaria. popov@mgmu.bg
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Troyanova
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Valerianova
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Danon
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002031:Bulgaria / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012042:Registries; D012737:Sex Factors; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000517:prevention & control