Abstract
Background: Pediatric melanoma presents with distinct clinical features compared to adult disease. Objective: Characterize risk factors and negative outcomes in pediatric melanoma. Methods: Multicenter retrospective study of patients under 20 years diagnosed with melanoma between January 1, 1995 and June 30, 2015 from 11 academic medical centers. Results: Melanoma was diagnosed in 317 patients, 73% of whom were diagnosed in adolescence (age ≥11). Spitzoid (31%) and superficial spreading (26%) subtypes were most common and 11% of cases arose from congenital nevi. Sentinel lymph node biopsy was performed in 68% of cases and positive in 46%. Fatality was observed in 7% of cases. Adolescent patients with melanoma were more likely to have family history of melanoma (P = .046) compared to controls. Limitations: Retrospective nature, cohort size, control selection, and potential referral bias. Conclusion: Pediatric melanoma has diverse clinical presentations. Better understanding of these cases and outcomes may facilitate improved risk stratification of pediatric melanoma.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 716-726 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology |
Volume | 90 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2024
Keywords
- melanoma
- oncology
- pediatric dermatology
- pediatric melanoma
PubMed: MeSH publication types
- Multicenter Study
- Journal Article