title: Follow-up of melanoma: a survey of Italian hospitals.
abstract: Follow-up is managed internally in 94% of centers and is programmed according to international guidelines in 52% of high-volume hospitals (>25 melanoma diagnoses per year); the remainder use internal guidelines; fewer low-volume centers (≤ 25 diagnoses per year) have internal guidelines (25%, p = 0.001). Instrumental examinations for stage III and IV disease are similar, while the examination interval changes from 3/4 months for stage III to 2/3 months for stage IV, and use of PET/CT increases from 44 to 54%. Overall, thoracic and abdominal CT is used most for follow-up in stage III (83%), while bone scintigraphy is used more commonly in low-volume centers (41 vs. 19%, p = 0.003), despite similar use of PET/CT (48 vs. 41%). Brain CT or MRI is more common in high-volume centers (63 vs. 39%, p > 0.0001), as is echography of draining lymph nodes (71 vs. 52%, p = 0.01). Hepatic/abdominal echography and thoracic radiography are used in about 50% of centers, regardless of type. In stage IV, use of bone scintigraphy is similar among groups (ca. 40%); brain CT/NMR use increases from 51 to 64% and is more common in high-volume centers (p = 0.03). Lymph node echography is more common in high-volume centers (56 vs. 39%, p = 0.03).
authors.affiliation: Divisione Melanoma e Sarcomi Muscolo-Cutanei, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia, Milan, Italy. alessandro.testori @ ieo.it
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Testori
authors.forename: Vanna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chiarion-Sileni
authors.forename: Ignazio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stanganelli
authors.forename: Carlo Riccardo
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Di Filippo
authors.forename: Ruggero
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ridolfi
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Parmiani
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gandini
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Soteldo
mesh_terms: D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D061847:Hospitals, High-Volume; D061846:Hospitals, Low-Volume; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000379:methods*; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed