Seasonal variation in the diagnosis of primary cutaneous melanoma
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Seasonal variation in the diagnosis of primary cutaneous melanoma
IRAS ID
278847
Contact name
Marc Moncrieff
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Malignant melanoma has seen an 128% increase in diagnosis since the early 1990s, making it the fifth most common cancer in the UK. As the numbers of patients affected continues to rise, we seek to identify the factors that influence this increase.
The thickness of the melanoma (known as Breslow thickness) is a key determinant in the expected development of the disease (prognosis). Increasing Breslow thickness is associated with increased risk of spread to nearby lymph glands, the disease coming back (recurring) and death related to melanoma. Additionally, a worse prognosis is associated with the presence of ulceration, clusters of separate nearby melanoma cells (microsatellites) and a high proportion of multiplying melanoma cells (mitotic rate).
The seasonal variation of malignant melanoma diagnosis has been described previously, however remains poorly understood. We set out to investigate the relationship between seasonality and melanoma in two large cancer centres in London and South East England. We will do this by analysing an anonymised database of 4100 patients. We will include all patients over 18 years old, diagnosed with melanoma of the skin from 2012-2017. The patients will all have undergone standard, best practise care.
Our question is: of the melanomas diagnosed throughout the year, how does the aggressiveness of the cancer change according to which month it was diagnosed? We will consider why the character of the melanomas should vary across the year. We will use these results to tailor our melanoma service (e.g. number of clinics per week per season), guide the timing of awareness campaigns and inform the seasonal use of Vitamin D supplementation. There will be no funding and no recruitment, as this data is collected anyway as part of patient care.
REC name
N/A
REC reference
N/A