Determination of the impact of melanoma surgical timing on survival using the National Cancer Database.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The ideal timing for melanoma treatment, predominantly surgery, remains undetermined. Patient concern for receiving immediate treatment often exceeds surgeon or hospital availability, requiring establishment of a safe window for melanoma surgery. OBJECTIVE:To assess the impact of time to definitive melanoma surgery on overall survival. METHODS:Patients with stage I to III cutaneous melanoma and with available time to definitive surgery and overall survival were identified by using the National Cancer Database (N = 153,218). The t test and chi-square test were used to compare variables. Cox regression was used for multivariate analysis. RESULTS:In a multivariate analysis of patients in all stages who were treated between 90 and 119 days after biopsy (hazard ratio [HR], 1.09; 95%

SUBMITTER: Conic RZ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6053055 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature