Published online March 1, 2005
PEDIATRICS Vol. 115 No. 3 March 2005, pp. 649-654 (doi:10.1542/peds.2004-0471)
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (22)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ferrari, A.
Right arrow Articles by Bartoli, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ferrari, A.
Right arrow Articles by Bartoli, C.
Related Collections
Right arrow Allergy & Dermatology
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Does Melanoma Behave Differently in Younger Children Than in Adults? A Retrospective Study of 33 Cases of Childhood Melanoma From a Single Institution

Andrea Ferrari, MD*, Aldo Bono, MD§, Marzia Baldi, MD§, Paola Collini, MD{ddagger}, Michela Casanova, MD*, Elisabetta Pennacchioli, MD§, Monica Terenziani, MD*, Ilaria Marcon, MD*, Mario Santinami, MD§ and Cesare Bartoli, MD§

* Pediatric Oncology Unit
{ddagger} Pathology Department
§ Melanoma and Sarcoma Unit, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, Milano, Italy

Objective.To ascertain whether childhood melanoma presents any peculiar clinical features or differences in prognosis with respect to adults, we retrospectively analyzed the data from 33 patients who were up to 14 years of age and treated for cutaneous melanoma at the Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, over a 25-year period.

Methods.Primary lesions were amelanotic in half of the cases and raised in 73%. Lower extremities were the most common primary sites. Histologically, 9 cases were classified as nodular type, and median thickness was 2.5 mm. Nine children had nodal involvement at diagnosis, 2 in-transit metastases, and 1 distant spread. Surgery was the mainstay of treatment; 9 patients underwent lymph node dissection, 3 received chemotherapy, and 2 received radiotherapy.

Results.With a median follow-up of 122 months, 5-year event-free survival and overall survival were 60% and 70%, respectively. Age seemed to correlate with survival, event-free survival being 90% in children under 10 and 47% in older patients, although the initial microstaging seemed worse in the former.

Conclusion.By comparison with adult cases, childhood melanoma can have a higher percentage of atypical clinical features (amelanotic and raised lesions), nodular histotype, and thick lesions. Although we have no data to support any suggestion of biological differences between young children and adolescents or adults, our findings give the impression that melanoma behaves differently in the younger age group.

Key Words: age • children • cutaneous melanoma • pediatric rare tumors • prognostic factors

Abbreviations: AJCC, American Joint Committee on Cancer • EFS, event-free survival • OS, overall survival

Accepted Aug 25, 2004.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am J EpidemiolHome page
S. A. Oliveria, J. M. Satagopan, A. C. Geller, S. W. Dusza, M. A. Weinstock, M. Berwick, M. Bishop, M. K. Heneghan, and A. C. Halpern
Study of Nevi in Children (SONIC): Baseline Findings and Predictors of Nevus Count
Am. J. Epidemiol., January 1, 2009; 169(1): 41 - 53.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am Soc Clin Oncol Ed BookHome page
A. Ferrari
The Challenge of Very Rare Pediatric Tumors: The Italian TREP Project
ASCO Educational Book, January 1, 2009; 2009(1): 620 - 624.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am Soc Clin Oncol Ed BookHome page
J. R. Lange
Pediatric Melanoma
ASCO Educational Book, January 1, 2008; 2008(1): 436 - 440.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch DermatolHome page
S. H. Cash, T. T. Dever, P. Hyde, and J. B. Lee
Epidermolysis Bullosa Nevus: An Exception to the Clinical and Dermoscopic Criteria for Melanoma
Arch Dermatol, September 1, 2007; 143(9): 1164 - 1167.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 AAP NewsHome page
A. J. Mancini
Malignant melanoma in children not as rare as once thought
AAP News, December 1, 2005; 26(12): 14 - 14.
[Full Text]

Home page
 AAP Grand RoundsHome page
J. G.H. Dinulos
Misdiagnosis of Melanoma in Young Children
AAP Grand Rounds, November 1, 2005; 14(5): 54 - 54.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch. Dis. Child.Home page
Journal Watch
Arch. Dis. Child., November 1, 2005; 90(11): 1200 - 1201.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JWatch PediatricsHome page
Melanoma Is Different in Children
Journal Watch Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, June 13, 2005; 2005(613): 4 - 4.
[Full Text]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
J. R. Lange and C. M. Balch
Melanoma in Children: Heightened Awareness of an Uncommon but Often Curable Malignancy
Pediatrics, March 1, 2005; 115(3): 802 - 803.
[Full Text] [PDF]