Cutaneous Melanoma with Brain Metastasis: Report of 193 Patients with New Observations.

<h4>Background</h4>Brain metastasis is a common endpoint in patients suffering from malignant melanoma. However, little is known about factors that predispose to brain metastases.<h4>Objective</h4>We performed a retrospective clinical and pathological investigation of melanom...

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Main Authors: Alenka Gugger, Raymond L Barnhill, Burkhardt Seifert, Silvia Dehler, Holger Moch, Claire Lugassy, Ewerton Marques-Maggio, Elisabeth J Rushing, Daniela Mihic-Probst
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0156115&type=printable
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author Alenka Gugger
Raymond L Barnhill
Burkhardt Seifert
Silvia Dehler
Holger Moch
Claire Lugassy
Ewerton Marques-Maggio
Elisabeth J Rushing
Daniela Mihic-Probst
author_facet Alenka Gugger
Raymond L Barnhill
Burkhardt Seifert
Silvia Dehler
Holger Moch
Claire Lugassy
Ewerton Marques-Maggio
Elisabeth J Rushing
Daniela Mihic-Probst
author_sort Alenka Gugger
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>Brain metastasis is a common endpoint in patients suffering from malignant melanoma. However, little is known about factors that predispose to brain metastases.<h4>Objective</h4>We performed a retrospective clinical and pathological investigation of melanoma patients with brain metastases in order to better characterise this patient population.<h4>Methods</h4>193 melanoma patients with brain metastasis histologically diagnosed between 1990 and 2015 at the University Hospital Zurich were retrospectively identified and further specified for sex, age at diagnosis and detection of brain metastasis, and localisation. In addition, data were extracted regarding the subtype of primary melanoma, Breslow tumour thickness, Clark Level, mutation status, extent of metastatic spread and history of a second melanoma.<h4>Results</h4>We found a significant male predominance (n = 126/193; 65%; p < 0.001). Breslow tumour thickness showed a wide range from 0.2 to 12.0 mm (n = 99; median 2.3 mm). 14 of 101 melanomas (14%) were classified as T1, thereof 11 (79%) were found in men. In 32 of 193 patients (17%), the primary melanoma was unknown.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Of special interest in our series is the high incidence of male predominance (79%) in cases of thin metastasing melanoma (14%), implicating genetic or epigenetic (hormonal) gender differences underlying tumour progression. Additionally, the high percentage of unknown primary melanoma (17%), at least partly representing completely regressed melanomas, indicates the importance of immune surveillance in melanoma progression.
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publishDate 2016-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
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spelling doaj-art-76405bc4ee6847658908696ca2a640932025-08-20T03:10:58ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-01115e015611510.1371/journal.pone.0156115Cutaneous Melanoma with Brain Metastasis: Report of 193 Patients with New Observations.Alenka GuggerRaymond L BarnhillBurkhardt SeifertSilvia DehlerHolger MochClaire LugassyEwerton Marques-MaggioElisabeth J RushingDaniela Mihic-Probst<h4>Background</h4>Brain metastasis is a common endpoint in patients suffering from malignant melanoma. However, little is known about factors that predispose to brain metastases.<h4>Objective</h4>We performed a retrospective clinical and pathological investigation of melanoma patients with brain metastases in order to better characterise this patient population.<h4>Methods</h4>193 melanoma patients with brain metastasis histologically diagnosed between 1990 and 2015 at the University Hospital Zurich were retrospectively identified and further specified for sex, age at diagnosis and detection of brain metastasis, and localisation. In addition, data were extracted regarding the subtype of primary melanoma, Breslow tumour thickness, Clark Level, mutation status, extent of metastatic spread and history of a second melanoma.<h4>Results</h4>We found a significant male predominance (n = 126/193; 65%; p < 0.001). Breslow tumour thickness showed a wide range from 0.2 to 12.0 mm (n = 99; median 2.3 mm). 14 of 101 melanomas (14%) were classified as T1, thereof 11 (79%) were found in men. In 32 of 193 patients (17%), the primary melanoma was unknown.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Of special interest in our series is the high incidence of male predominance (79%) in cases of thin metastasing melanoma (14%), implicating genetic or epigenetic (hormonal) gender differences underlying tumour progression. Additionally, the high percentage of unknown primary melanoma (17%), at least partly representing completely regressed melanomas, indicates the importance of immune surveillance in melanoma progression.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0156115&type=printable
spellingShingle Alenka Gugger
Raymond L Barnhill
Burkhardt Seifert
Silvia Dehler
Holger Moch
Claire Lugassy
Ewerton Marques-Maggio
Elisabeth J Rushing
Daniela Mihic-Probst
Cutaneous Melanoma with Brain Metastasis: Report of 193 Patients with New Observations.
PLoS ONE
title Cutaneous Melanoma with Brain Metastasis: Report of 193 Patients with New Observations.
title_full Cutaneous Melanoma with Brain Metastasis: Report of 193 Patients with New Observations.
title_fullStr Cutaneous Melanoma with Brain Metastasis: Report of 193 Patients with New Observations.
title_full_unstemmed Cutaneous Melanoma with Brain Metastasis: Report of 193 Patients with New Observations.
title_short Cutaneous Melanoma with Brain Metastasis: Report of 193 Patients with New Observations.
title_sort cutaneous melanoma with brain metastasis report of 193 patients with new observations
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0156115&type=printable
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