Recurrence of Melanoma Skin Cancer Found in 1 in 20 Patients

A new study shows that the recurrence of melanoma skin cancer is more common following a 10 year period than previously thought. In fact, some statistics suggest that it could be occurring in as many as one in 20 patients.

"For patients with melanoma, survival beyond 10 years without a recurrence has been considered nearly synonymous with a cure," said principal investigator Mark Faries, MD, FACS, a professor of surgery at the John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John's Health Center, Santa Monica, CA, according to a press release. "However, most studies do not follow up patients longer than 10 years.  Our study found that late melanoma recurrence is not rare and that it occurs more frequently in certain patient groups."

Those who are at a greater risk for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, recurring more than a decade later, compared with early recurrence of melanoma within the first three years, were found to typically be younger at the time of initial diagnosis and generally exhibited less serious characteristics of the original tumor, according to the study.

The study looked at 4,731 patients who were diagnosed with skin melanoma at medical centers who received long-term follow-up. Of those patients, 408 later experienced late melanoma recurrence after being disease free for 10 years or more.

"It appears the risk of melanoma recurrence is never completely gone," Dr. Faries said, via the release. "One change that should result from our study is that people need to be followed up for life with a physician after a diagnosis of melanoma." 

The American Cancer Society estimates that nearly 76,700 new cases of melanoma are diagnosed each year in the United States alone.

Researchers are concerned regarding the results as it shows that despite large amounts of time, there may never be a number to mark the possible likelihood that a melanoma cancer survivor is more likely to remain cancer free.

More information regarding the study can be found in July issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.