Study of Late Recurrence of Malignant Melanoma

It seems prudent to have a lifelong follow up even though one is fully recovered by the treatment of skin cancer. The usual time line of 10 years after first cure might not be all conclusive. If the German study as detailed below is any guidance, patients of malignant melanoma should take heart in that late recurrence (10 years or more) is only about 1 percent.

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Late recurrence (10 years or more) of malignant melanoma in south-east Germany (Saxony) A single-centre analysis of 1881 patients with a follow-up of 10 years or more

Background Late recurrent melanoma (MM) is rare.Objective In the present study, we analysed the frequency of late recurrent MM in south-eastern Germany.Patients and methods In our centre, 2314 MM patients were documented (1972[ndash]2001). A total of 1881 patients in stage I or II (AJCC) with a follow-up of [ge]10 years were selected and screened for late recurrence ([ge]10 years after diagnosis).Results Twenty patients were identified (1.1%), 13 women and 7 men, median age 44 years (age range 30[ndash]74 years).

The largest period from primary diagnosis to recurrence was 25.1 years with a median of 13.9 years.

Conclusions Late recurrence is a clinical sign of melanoma dormancy. We conclude that late recurrences argue for a lifelong follow-up of melanoma patients.