Malignant cutaneous melanoma in patients from Las Tunas province

Abstract

Background: malignant melanoma is a highly aggressive skin neoplasia, whose incidence shows a constant and rapid increase.

Objective: to characterize variables in patients diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma, whose biopsies were analyzed in the pathologic anatomy department of "Dr. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna" General Teaching Hospital from January, 2008 to December, 2014.

Methods: a descriptive and cross-sectional study was performed in 31 patients treated in the place and period of time mentioned above. The official form of biopsy was used as a secondary source of collecting information and it was processed using descriptive statistics.

Results: the 10,6 % of the biopsies analyzed corresponded with cutaneous melanoma, its frequency prevailed in 2011 and 2010, with a 25,8 % and 19,3 % respectively. It was evident a higher percentage in males (67,7 %) and in the age group between 60 and 69 years old, with a 35,4 %. Caucasian patients were the most affected ones, with a 90,3 % and the predominant location was in the lower limbs in 45,1 % of the cases. The prevailing Clark invasion level was IV, evident by the 32,2 % of the sample, and the most frequent histological variety was the malignant nodular melanoma in 19 patients, for a 61,2 %.

Conclusions: cutaneous melanoma prevailed in lower extremities in males and it had a belated diagnosis, since there was prevalence of IV Clark invasion level and nodular melanoma as the most frequent histological type.