Malignant Melanoma Amongst Maori and New Zealand Europeans, 2000–2004

Abstract

Cutaneous melanoma is much less common among Maori than among New Zealand Europeans, but Maori have a greater Breslow depth and therefore have a worse prognosis. Increased awareness on behalf of these groups and health care practitioners should assist in ensuring early detection, thereby improving the overall outcome in Maori.

Successful melanoma triage by a virtual lesion clinic (teledermatoscopy)

“…The VLC was established for triage of lesions that referring GPs consider suspicious of melanoma, to expedite the diagnostic pathway and to reduce unnecessary removal of benign lesions. The patient profile for ethnicity, age, gender and body location was consistent with expectations for New Zealand melanoma . The high attendance rate (90%) suggested the VLC was widely accepted among patients, as reported for other teledermatoscopy services and was concordant with the traditional FSA held at the study DHB over a similar timeframe.…”

“…The patient profile for ethnicity, age, gender and body location was consistent with expectations for New Zealand melanoma. 1,[16][17][18][19] The high attendance rate (90%) suggested the VLC was widely accepted among patients, as reported for other teledermatoscopy services 13,20 and was concordant with the traditional FSA held at the study DHB over a similar timeframe. The median wait time for FSA at VLC was 66% shorter than for standard FSA, so that although the wait time to surgery after diagnosis was unchanged, VLC patients underwent excision a median of 17.5 days earlier than those attending for face-to-face assessment.…”

Cutaneous malignancies in Indigenous Peoples of urban Sydney

“…However, our small cohort showed not only a young age of onset (mean 27 years), but both patients presented with late stage (III) disease, and both dying from melanoma, despite best practice surgical, radiation and chemotherapeutic interventions. Our experience is in keeping with studies on the Maori population where advanced presentation, thicker Breslow and poor outcomes are reported . Melanoma is reported to be less common in Indigenous Australians, but rates in the Maori population, and Indigenous Australians in the Northern territory have had a reported increased incidence .…”

“…Specifically, there are no studies addressing the burden of cutaneous malignancies in Indigenous Australians, and the scarce data that exist from studies in internationally comparable populations demonstrate consistently late presentation …”

Overview of Cancer Registration Research in the Asian Pacific from 2008-2013

“…Outlook for patients with thin invasive melanoma is positive, although continued clinical vigilance is warranted for patients with nodular melanoma and those with the thickest tumors (Green et al, 2012). Cutaneous melanoma is much less common among Maori than among New Zealand Europeans, but Maori have a greater Breslow depth and therefore have a worse prognosis (Hore et al, 2010) Minority ethnicities in New Zealand have a higher than expected risk of thick and more advanced melanoma, with poorer prognosis (Sneyd and Cox, 2009). …”