BACKGROUND: Rates of melanoma have increased worldwide over the last few decades. Currently, this rate of increase is greater for melanoma than for any other cancer in the U.S. Approximately 3% of all melanomas diagnosed in women are located within the genital tract, predominantly affecting the vulva. Overall, melanomas of the vulva account for 2-10% of all malignancies of the female external genitalia. Due to the rarity of this disease, treatment recommendations do not exist. METHODS: This retrospective study was designed to evaluate the significance of clinical and pathologic features for survival among 89 patients examined for malignant melanoma at 5 hospitals in Germany from 1978 to 1991. A complete workup based on age, initial symptoms, tumor localization, presence of ulceration, postoperative stage, surgical procedure, and survival, was performed. RESULTS: The overall 5-year survival rate of 36.7% confirms the poor prognosis of this disease. Definitive treatment concepts require a standardized treatment of patients with malignant melanoma of the vulva; however, because of the rarity of vulvar melanomas, prospective studies are difficult to perform. CONCLUSIONS: Parameters such as age, Breslow's thickness of invasion, Clark's level of invasion, lymph node involvement, anatomic site, and postoperative stage are prognostic factors for survival. Surgery should be performed in accordance with the accepted standards for cutaneous melanoma.
BACKGROUND: Rates of melanoma have increased worldwide over the last few decades. Currently, this rate of increase is greater for melanoma than for any other cancer in the U.S. Approximately 3% of all melanomas diagnosed in women are located within the genital tract, predominantly affecting the vulva. Overall, melanomas of the vulva account for 2-10% of all malignancies of the female external genitalia. Due to the rarity of this disease, treatment recommendations do not exist. METHODS: This retrospective study was designed to evaluate the significance of clinical and pathologic features for survival among 89 patients examined for malignant melanoma at 5 hospitals in Germany from 1978 to 1991. A complete workup based on age, initial symptoms, tumor localization, presence of ulceration, postoperative stage, surgical procedure, and survival, was performed. RESULTS: The overall 5-year survival rate of 36.7% confirms the poor prognosis of this disease. Definitive treatment concepts require a standardized treatment of patients with malignant melanoma of the vulva; however, because of the rarity of vulvar melanomas, prospective studies are difficult to perform. CONCLUSIONS: Parameters such as age, Breslow's thickness of invasion, Clark's level of invasion, lymph node involvement, anatomic site, and postoperative stage are prognostic factors for survival. Surgery should be performed in accordance with the accepted standards for cutaneous melanoma.
Authors: Mitul B Modi; Phyllis A Gimotty; Michael E Ming; Neha Jariwala; Rosalie Elenitsas; Chris Miller; Emily Y Chu; Hanna Lindner; Ata S Moshiri; Lauren E Schwartz; Priti Lal; Maria C Reyes; David E Elder; Xiaowei Xu Journal: Hum Pathol Date: 2020-07-20 Impact factor: 3.466
Authors: Kalliopi I Pappa; George D Vlachos; Maria Roubelakis; Dimitrios-Efthymios G Vlachos; Theodora G Kalafati; Dimitrios Loutradis; Nicholas P Anagnou Journal: Biomed Res Int Date: 2015-01-28 Impact factor: 3.411
Authors: Viola A Heinzelmann-Schwarz; Sheri Nixdorf; Mehrnaz Valadan; Monica Diczbalis; Jake Olivier; Geoff Otton; André Fedier; Neville F Hacker; James P Scurry Journal: Int J Mol Med Date: 2014-02-14 Impact factor: 4.101