title: Clinical characteristics and prognostic indicators for metastatic melanoma: data from 446 patients in north China.
abstract: Melanoma is an extremely rare tumor in Asia. This retrospective study aimed to identify the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of metastatic melanoma patients at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital over the last 30 years. Survival analysis was performed with Kaplan-Meier, log-rank test, and multivariate Cox regression method using SPSS 19.0 software. The 1-, 2-, and 5-year survival rates of metastatic melanoma patients were 52, 32, and 16 %, respectively. Median overall survival (OS) was 13.5 months, median progression-free survival (PFS) 9.0 months, and median disease-free survival 20.3 months. Furthermore, patients with a single metastatic site achieved better OS and PFS than those with two or more metastatic lesions (OS 21.6 vs. 8.9 months, P < 0.001; PFS 11.3 vs. 7.1 months, P < 0.001). Survival times of patients with visceral metastases were the shortest (OS 8.5 months; PFS 7.5 months). Specifically, patients with primary mucosal lesions had a worse OS (9.7 months) and PFS (6.8 months) than those with acral (19.2 and 15.6 months, respectively) or non-acral primary lesions (11.8 and 11.1 months, respectively). The treatment of advanced melanoma was unitary, and prognoses of patients with metastatic melanoma in China were poor. Visceral metastasis, multiple metastatic sites, and primary mucosal lesions were significant predictors of survival of patients with metastatic melanoma. Those with primary mucosal lesions had significantly worse survivals than those with primary cutaneous lesions. More active involvement in clinical studies and more feedback on various treatment options are required.
authors: Department of Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Tianjin, 300060, China.|National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, 300060, China.
authors: Mengze
authors: M
authors: Hao
authors: National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, 300060, China.|Department of Pathology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Tianjin, 300060, China.
authors: Gang
authors: G
authors: Zhao
authors: Department of Diagnostic, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, 300070, China.
authors: Xiaoling
authors: X
authors: Du
authors: Department of Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Tianjin, 300060, China.|National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, 300060, China.
authors: Yun
authors: Y
authors: Yang
authors: Department of Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Tianjin, 300060, China. yangjilong@tjmuch.com.|National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, 300060, China. yangjilong@tjmuch.com.
authors: Jilong
authors: J
authors: Yang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002681:China; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000473:pathology*; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Metastatic melanoma; Overall survival; Predictor; Prognosis; Progression-free survival