Changing biology of cutaneous melanoma.

Survival of patients with cutaneous melanoma (CM) has improved significantly worldwide despite moderate treatment changes. The aim of our study was to determine whether the time period of diagnosis was an independent prognostic factor. The data of 1752 patients diagnosed with CM in Slovenia between 1983 and 1997 were analyzed. Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess the effect of multiple variables on survival. No significant decrease was observed in mean tumor thickness, whereas mean age at the time of diagnosis increased from 36.58 to 53.32 years. Multivariate analysis confirmed tumor thickness, age at the time of diagnosis, regional metastases and period of diagnosis as independent predictors of survival (P<0.0001). The most important independent predictor of survival of patients diagnosed with CM in the time period from 1983 to 1997 was the time of diagnosis.