Malignant Melanoma in the Elderly: Different Regional Disease and Poorer Prognosis
J Cancer. 2011; 2: 538–543. Published online 2011 November 1. James B. Macdonald,1 Amylou C. Dueck,2 Richard J. Gray,3 Nabil Wasif,3 David L. Swanson,1 Aleksandar Sekulic,1 and Barbara A. Pockaj3
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3213678/pdf/jcav02p0538.pdf
Purpose: Age is a poor prognostic factor in melanoma patients. Elderly melanoma patients have a different presentation and clinical course than younger patients. We evaluated the impact of age ≥70 years (yrs) on the diagnosis and natural history of melanoma.
Conclusions: Elderly (≥70 yrs) melanoma patients present with thicker melanomas and a higher mitotic rate but have fewer SLN metastases. Melanoma in the elderly is more common on the head and neck. Higher incidence of local/in-transit metastases is seen among the elderly. Five-year disease-specific mortality and overall mortality are both worse for these patients.
