[Primary cutaneous melanoma: prognostic factors not included in the classification of the American Joint Committee on Cancer].

Skin histopathology reports of melanoma routinely include important prognostic information used in the staging system of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC). This information, which influences disease management, includes tumor depth, presence of ulceration, number of mitotic figures, and presence or absence of microsatellites. However, numerous studies have found many other factors that are not included in the AJCC classification but that are nevertheless of prognostic significance. We discuss these factors in this paper.