Desmoplastic melanoma: Demographic and clinicopathological features and disease‑specific prognostic factors

Abstract

Desmoplastic melanoma (DM) is a rare morphological subtype of melanoma that remains uncharacterized. The aim of the present study was to investigate the incidence of DM, its general demographics, clinicopathological features and disease-specific prognostic factors. DM cases were sampled from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program from between 1973 and 2017. A total of 3,657 cases (median age, 68 years) were identified. The results indicated that DM primarily occurred in Caucasian subjects, with a male-to-female ratio of 2:1. Statistically significant overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) rate differences were identified according to sex, age, treatment, T stage, N stage and SEER historic tumor stage (P<0.05). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, age >68 years, male sex, American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage II and III, and SEER historic tumor stage of the regional tumor were all factors associated with poorer OS and DSS rates. The findings also revealed that surgical treatment was associated with favorable DSS and OS rates. In conclusion, DM occurred primarily in Caucasian subjects of 60–80 years of age, with predominance in males. Furthermore, age, sex, AJCC stage, SEER historic tumor stage and surgical treatment were identified as independent prognostic factors of DM in terms of DSS and OS.

Development and validation of prognostic nomogram in patients with nonmetastatic malignant melanoma: a SEER population‐based study

“…Therefore, the level of invasion was not enabled into the present study. Additionally, the choice of surgery treatment could improve OS and was a vital protective factor in patients with NMMM, which was consistent with previous research 24 …”

“…Additionally, the choice of surgery treatment could improve OS and was a vital protective factor in patients with NMMM, which was consistent with previous research. 24 Yang et al developed and validated a nomogram for predicting the risk of a cutaneous histopathological subtype of nodular melanoma, and the nomogram was constructed by incorporating several common related factors, including age at diagnosis, sex, marital status, AJCC stage, SEER stage, and lymph node density. 15 But in our manuscript, we selected common independent risk factors in patients with NMMM as follows: age, sex, race, marital status, anatomic site, stage, depth ulceration, mitoses, and treatment, and these factors were more readily available and comprehensive in clinical work.…”

Desmoplastic Melanoma: A Clinicopathological Analysis of Three Cases in the Chinese Population

“…25,26 Surgery resection is the most widely used treatment, and has also been identified as an independent prognostic factor of DM in terms of overall survival. 40 During resection surgery, the resection is determined by tumor invasion depth. Studies revealed that although the presence of neurophilic features could not predict the survival rate in DM, it did correlate with a higher recurrence rate.…”

Local Recurrence Rates After Excision of Desmoplastic Melanoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Desmoplastic melanoma often has ill-defined clinical margins and occurs most commonly on the head and neck in older patients. 1–6 Subtle spindle-shaped or neurotropic melanocytes may not be detected with routine hematoxylin and eosin stains. 7–11…”