title: Thickness and diameter in melanoma: is there a relation?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the relationship between diameter and Breslow's thickness in skin melanoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  2,071 skin melanomas incident in the area of activity of the Tuscany Cancer Registry (central Italy) were analyzed. Pearson's linear correlation coefficient r was computed between diameter and Breslow's thickness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a statistically significant, but rather small, correlation between diameter and Breslow (r = 0.39). The same was true for men and women, for older and younger patients, and for skin subsites. 22.3% of the examined skin melanomas had a diameter ≤6 mm.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was a statistically significant, but small, correlation between Breslow's thickness and diameter in skin melanomas. Moreover, a non-negligible proportion of small lesions were thick and/or nodular.
authors.affiliation: Clinical, Descriptive and Registries Unit, Institute for Cancer Research and Prevention (ISPO), Florence - Italy.
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Crocetti
authors.affiliation: Clinical, Descriptive and Registries Unit, Institute for Cancer Research and Prevention (ISPO), Florence - Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fancelli
authors.affiliation: Clinical, Descriptive and Registries Unit, Institute for Cancer Research and Prevention (ISPO), Florence - Italy.
authors.forename: Adele
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caldarella
authors.affiliation: Clinical, Descriptive and Registries Unit, Institute for Cancer Research and Prevention (ISPO), Florence - Italy.
authors.forename: Carlotta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Buzzoni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012042:Registries; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D016707:Tissue Fixation