Evaluation of 6 Patients with Genital Melanoma from Onset of Symptoms to Death: Evaluate the Factors Affecting the Prognosis of the Disease

BACKGROUND Genital melanoma is a rare but deadly cancer in women and the prognosis is often poor. PURPOSE This study assesses the impact of possible risk factors on the end prognosis of the patients, with the ultimate goal of improving survival of disease. METHODS This is a report of 6 patients diagnosed and treated as genital melanoma. Parameters reviewed included: age at diagnose, presenting symptoms, location size and Breslow depth of lesion, stage at diagnose, adjuvant therapies, hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy, metastasis or recurrence in follow-up, chemotherapy for metastatic disease. RESULTS The mean age at the time of diagnosis, was 44.67 years, the average size of lesion was 2.91 cm; the average Breslow depth of lesion was 1.93 mm. The mean interval between the onsets of symptoms to diagnosis was 16.7 months; the average life expectancy was 23.5 months. There is no significant relationship between the initial location of the lesion and prognosis (P: 0.98). Patients diagnosed in < 7 months, were in lower stages at diagnose (P: 0.018), and the survival of them was better (P: 0.035). Patients diagnosed in early stages had better survival at last (P: 0.035) Adjuvant radiotherapy improves survival markedly (P: 0.018). Hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy had no significant effect on prognosis (P: 0.7). Chemotherapy in metastatic disease had no significant effect on prognosis (P: 0.46). CONCLUSION The survival markedly improved if the disease diagnosed in a short distance from onset of symptoms and specially in early stages. Adjuvant radiotherapy can improve the survival significantly, but for the early hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy and also for chemotherapy in metastatic disease, the impact on prognosis is uncertain, but positive.