Relationship between patients' early recognition of melanoma and depth of invasion.

The correlation between time to diagnosis and thickness of lesion in patients with superficial spreading melanoma was explored. Charts of 245 patients diagnosed since 1976 were reviewed for data on lesion duration and time since elevation (as perceived by patients); and the degree of elevation (if any); thickness, and diameter of lesion (as measured histologically). No correlation emerged between time to diagnosis and the biologic state of disease as reflected by thickness. The majority of melanomas in this series were not recognized by patients in an early, pre-elevation, low-risk phase. Whether an emphasis on identification of melanoma in this phase will lead to an increase in the percent of patients presenting with biologically early, curable disease remains to be tested.