Abstract
Background: We report the performance of a gene expression profile test to classify the recurrence risk of cutaneous melanoma tumors of the head and neck as low-risk Class 1 or high-risk Class 2. Methods: Of note, 157 primary head and neck cutaneous melanoma tumors were identified. Survival analyses were performed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox methods. Results: Gene expression profile class and node status stratified tumors into significantly different 5-year survival groups by Kaplan-Meier method (P <.0001 for all end points), and both were independent predictors of recurrence in multivariate analysis. Overall, 74% of distant metastases and 88% of melanoma-specific deaths had Class 2 risk. Conclusion: The gene expression profile test identifies cases at increased risk for metastasis and death independent of a clinically or pathologically negative nodal status, suggesting that incorporation of this molecular tool could improve clinical management of patients with head and neck cutaneous melanoma, especially in those with a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 871-879 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Head and Neck |
Volume | 41 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2019 |
Keywords
- cutaneous melanoma
- gene expression profiling
- metastasis
- prognosis
- staging
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Otorhinolaryngology