Frequency of Microsatellite Metastases, Satellite Metastases, and Residual Tumor in Thin Melanomas: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Introduction: Thin invasive melanomas (Breslow thickness ≤1.0 mm) are increasing in incidence in Sweden, but also notably have a favorable prognosis. Treatment typically involves complete diagnostic excision followed by wide local excision (WLE) to eliminate potential microsatellite and satellite m...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ebba Wennberg, Rudy Bittar, Helena Svensson, John Paoli
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Mattioli1885 2025-04-01
Series:Dermatology Practical & Conceptual
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dpcj.org/index.php/dpc/article/view/5157
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849315921575804928
author Ebba Wennberg
Rudy Bittar
Helena Svensson
John Paoli
author_facet Ebba Wennberg
Rudy Bittar
Helena Svensson
John Paoli
author_sort Ebba Wennberg
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Thin invasive melanomas (Breslow thickness ≤1.0 mm) are increasing in incidence in Sweden, but also notably have a favorable prognosis. Treatment typically involves complete diagnostic excision followed by wide local excision (WLE) to eliminate potential microsatellite and satellite metastases, along with residual melanoma. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the frequency of microsatellite and satellite metastases in diagnostic excision specimens and residual melanoma in WLE specimens from thin melanomas. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study including consecutively collected primary thin melanomas excised at Sahlgrenska University Hospital between January 2014 and December 2020. Results: Among 1,012 cases, no microsatellites were observed in the diagnostic excisions. Meanwhile, macroscopic satellite metastases were only present in 0.2% of the cases (n=2). Among 887 melanomas undergoing WLE with available data (87.6%), no microsatellites or satellite metastases were found in the extra tissue removed. Of the completely excised melanomas (n=936, 92.5%), only 0.2% (n=2) exhibited residual melanoma in the WLE. Conclusions: Our findings align with previous studies suggesting that WLE may result in excessive and unnecessary treatment for completely excised thin melanomas. The requirement of performing WLEs following complete excision of thin melanomas needs to be reevaluated.
format Article
id doaj-art-c7e231c64eb443d7b394693262b4161c
institution Kabale University
issn 2160-9381
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Mattioli1885
record_format Article
series Dermatology Practical & Conceptual
spelling doaj-art-c7e231c64eb443d7b394693262b4161c2025-08-20T03:51:59ZengMattioli1885Dermatology Practical & Conceptual2160-93812025-04-0115210.5826/dpc.1502a5157Frequency of Microsatellite Metastases, Satellite Metastases, and Residual Tumor in Thin Melanomas: A Retrospective Cohort StudyEbba Wennberg0https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9871-2675Rudy Bittar1Helena Svensson2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6332-430XJohn Paoli3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1326-8535Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden AND Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Region Västra Götaland, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, SwedenDepartment of Dermatology and Venereology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, SwedenDepartment of Dermatology and Venereology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden AND Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Region Västra Götaland, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, SwedenDepartment of Dermatology and Venereology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden AND Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Region Västra Götaland, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden Introduction: Thin invasive melanomas (Breslow thickness ≤1.0 mm) are increasing in incidence in Sweden, but also notably have a favorable prognosis. Treatment typically involves complete diagnostic excision followed by wide local excision (WLE) to eliminate potential microsatellite and satellite metastases, along with residual melanoma. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the frequency of microsatellite and satellite metastases in diagnostic excision specimens and residual melanoma in WLE specimens from thin melanomas. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study including consecutively collected primary thin melanomas excised at Sahlgrenska University Hospital between January 2014 and December 2020. Results: Among 1,012 cases, no microsatellites were observed in the diagnostic excisions. Meanwhile, macroscopic satellite metastases were only present in 0.2% of the cases (n=2). Among 887 melanomas undergoing WLE with available data (87.6%), no microsatellites or satellite metastases were found in the extra tissue removed. Of the completely excised melanomas (n=936, 92.5%), only 0.2% (n=2) exhibited residual melanoma in the WLE. Conclusions: Our findings align with previous studies suggesting that WLE may result in excessive and unnecessary treatment for completely excised thin melanomas. The requirement of performing WLEs following complete excision of thin melanomas needs to be reevaluated. https://dpcj.org/index.php/dpc/article/view/5157Microsatellite metastasessatellite metastasesresidual melanomathin melanomaWide local excisioninvasive melanoma
spellingShingle Ebba Wennberg
Rudy Bittar
Helena Svensson
John Paoli
Frequency of Microsatellite Metastases, Satellite Metastases, and Residual Tumor in Thin Melanomas: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Dermatology Practical & Conceptual
Microsatellite metastases
satellite metastases
residual melanoma
thin melanoma
Wide local excision
invasive melanoma
title Frequency of Microsatellite Metastases, Satellite Metastases, and Residual Tumor in Thin Melanomas: A Retrospective Cohort Study
title_full Frequency of Microsatellite Metastases, Satellite Metastases, and Residual Tumor in Thin Melanomas: A Retrospective Cohort Study
title_fullStr Frequency of Microsatellite Metastases, Satellite Metastases, and Residual Tumor in Thin Melanomas: A Retrospective Cohort Study
title_full_unstemmed Frequency of Microsatellite Metastases, Satellite Metastases, and Residual Tumor in Thin Melanomas: A Retrospective Cohort Study
title_short Frequency of Microsatellite Metastases, Satellite Metastases, and Residual Tumor in Thin Melanomas: A Retrospective Cohort Study
title_sort frequency of microsatellite metastases satellite metastases and residual tumor in thin melanomas a retrospective cohort study
topic Microsatellite metastases
satellite metastases
residual melanoma
thin melanoma
Wide local excision
invasive melanoma
url https://dpcj.org/index.php/dpc/article/view/5157
work_keys_str_mv AT ebbawennberg frequencyofmicrosatellitemetastasessatellitemetastasesandresidualtumorinthinmelanomasaretrospectivecohortstudy
AT rudybittar frequencyofmicrosatellitemetastasessatellitemetastasesandresidualtumorinthinmelanomasaretrospectivecohortstudy
AT helenasvensson frequencyofmicrosatellitemetastasessatellitemetastasesandresidualtumorinthinmelanomasaretrospectivecohortstudy
AT johnpaoli frequencyofmicrosatellitemetastasessatellitemetastasesandresidualtumorinthinmelanomasaretrospectivecohortstudy