Primary staging and follow-up in melanoma patients - monocenter evaluation of methods, costs and patient survival
In a German cohort of 661 melanoma patients the performance, costs and survival benefits of staging methods (history and physical examination; chest X-ray; ultrasonography of the abdomen; high resolution sonography of the peripheral lymph nodes) were assessed at initial staging and during follow-up...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2002 Jul 2
|
| In: |
British journal of cancer
Year: 2002, Volume: 87, Issue: 2, Pages: 151-157 |
| ISSN: | 1532-1827 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/sj.bjc.6600428 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjc.6600428 Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2376106/ 
|
| Author Notes: | U. Hofmann, M. Szedlak, W. Rittgen, E.G. Jung and D. Schadendorf |
| Summary: | In a German cohort of 661 melanoma patients the performance, costs and survival benefits of staging methods (history and physical examination; chest X-ray; ultrasonography of the abdomen; high resolution sonography of the peripheral lymph nodes) were assessed at initial staging and during follow-up of stage I/II+III disease. At initial staging, 74% (23 out of 31) of synchronous metastases were first detected by physical examination followed by sonography of the lymph nodes revealing 16% (5 out of 31). Other imaging methods were less efficient (Chest X-ray: one out of 31; sonography of abdomen: two out of 31). Nearly 24% of all 127 first recurrences and 18% of 73 second recurrences developed in patients not participating in the follow-up programme. In follow-up patients detection of first or second recurrence were attributed to history and physical examination on a routine visit in 47 and 52% recurrences, respectively, and to routine imaging procedures in 21 and 17% of cases, respectively. Lymph node sonography was the most successful technical staging procedure indicating 13% of first relapses, but comprised 24% of total costs of follow-up in stage I/II. Routine imaging comprised nearly 50% of total costs for follow-up in stage I/II and in stage III. The mode of detecting a relapse (‘patient vs. doctor-diagnosed’ or ‘symptomatic vs asymptomatic’) did not significantly influence patients overall survival. Taken together, imaging procedures for routine follow-up in stage I/II and stage III melanoma patients were inefficient and not cost-efficient. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Gesehen am 11.11.2020 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1532-1827 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/sj.bjc.6600428 |