title: Controversies in the diagnosis and treatment of early cutaneous melanoma.
abstract: Cutaneous melanoma (CM) is a disease with an unpredictable evolution mainly due to its high metastatic ability. The steadily increasing incidence and the poor outcome in advanced stages made this cancer an interesting field for many research groups. Given that CM is a curable disease in early stages, efforts have been made to detect it as soon as possible, which led to the diversification and refining of diagnosis methods and therapies. But, as the data from trials have been published, doubts about the indications and efficacy of established treatments have arisen. In fact, there is probably no single aspect of early CM that has not given birth to controversy. This article intends to present the current disputes regarding the early detection, diagnosis, treatment and postoperative follow-up of patients with localized CM. After analyzing both pros and cons, several conclusions were drawn, that reflect our experience in managing patients with early CM.
authors: "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania ; Department of Dermatology, Elias University Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, Romania.
authors: O A
authors: OA
authors: Orzan
authors: "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania ; Department of Surgical Oncology, "Alexandru Trestioreanu" Oncologic Institute, Bucharest, Romania.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Șandru
authors: "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania ; Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Microsurgery, "Prof. Dr. Agrippa Ionescu" Clinical Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, Romania.
authors: C R
authors: CR
authors: Jecan
mesh_terms: D046169:Dermoscopy; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy; D012878:Skin Neoplasms; D000096142:Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma
keywords: diagnosis; early cutaneous melanoma; follow-up; treatment