title: Treatment strategy for cutaneous malignant melanoma.
abstract: The incidence of cutaneous malignant melanoma has been rising in Japan. With education, recent advances in accurate diagnosis and establishment of the concept, more lesions are being diagnosed as early melanomas, for which there is a high cure rate. However, many patients will still present with thicker lesions or nodal involvement, which carries a significantly worse prognosis. Recently there have been advances in the management and treatment of cutaneous melanoma. This article reviews the clinical evidence behind the current treatment recommendations for primary and recurrent cutaneous melanoma in Japan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 15, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan. tsutsu@med.hokudai.ac.jp
authors.forename: Arata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsutsumida
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.forename: Yuhei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Tsuneki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sugihara
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008545:Melanoma / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*