Profile of Melanoma Cases in a University Hospital, 2003 to 2007

Abstract

Introduction: The incidence of melanoma has increased worldwide, however little is known about its characteristics on the cases treated in university hospitals in Brazil. Objective: To evaluate the epidemiological profile of the reported cases of melanoma in the Hospital de Clínicas of the Federal University of Paraná in the period 2003-2007. Method: Retrospective descriptive study of medical records of confirmed cases of melanoma. The variables analyzed were: sex, age, primary tumor location and histological type according to the database of the Cancer Hospital Registry. Results: Based on the hospital database, a total of 71 cases were recorded and histologically confirmed during the timeframe considered. The profile found was of white patients (98.2%), male (50.7%), age 40 or older (85.9%), median 58 years, presenting injury between one to five years of evolution (48,6%) in the regions of the trunk (29,6%), head and neck (25,4%), nodular type (22%) and superficial spreading melanoma (22%). The majority of the melanomas lesions filled the ABCD rule (asymmetry, edge, changed color and diameter) and 22,2% of patients had metastases. Conclusion: The melanoma predominated in white patients in the sixth decade of life, thoracic location and histological nodular type with metastatic or lymph node repercussions.