title: Cutaneous malignant melanoma.
abstract: Skin cancer has become the most common neoplasm in the United States. With early diagnosis and appropriate management, most skin cancers have an overall 5-year survival rate of 95%. Cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM), however, has a significantly higher morbidity and mortality, resulting in 65% of all skin cancer deaths. Although the long-term survival rate for patients with metastatic melanoma is only 5%, early detection of CMM carries an excellent prognosis, with surgical excision often being curative. Primary care physicians can play a critical role in reducing morbidity and mortality from CMM by recognizing patients at risk, encouraging the adoption of risk-reducing behaviors, and becoming adept at identifying suspicious lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Cummins
authors.forename: Jordan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cummins
authors.forename: Hardin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pantle
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Silverman
authors.forename: Aimee L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.forename: Arjun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chanmugam
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D012307:Risk Factors; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends