A study of the clinical characteristics and prognosis of advanced mucosal and cutaneous melanoma in a Chinese population.

AIM: To investigate the characteristics and prognosis of melanoma in a Chinese population.

MATERIALS &

METHODS

Total of 162 advanced melanoma patients were analyzed retrospectively. Kaplan-Meier method and Log rank test were used for survival analysis.

RESULTS

The median progression-free survival of mucosal and cutaneous melanoma patients was 13 versus 8 months (p = 0.005), 14 versus 10 months in immunotherapy group (p = 0.022), 6 versus 4 months in chemotherapy group (p = 0.040). Age was an independent risk factor for mucosal melanoma patients. Staging and treatment regimen were independent risk factors for cutaneous melanoma patients. The lungs, liver and brain were most common metastasis locations.

CONCLUSION

The prognosis of patients with advanced mucosal melanoma is better than cutaneous melanoma in China. There are significant differences between the two subtypes of melanoma.