Melanoma Registry of the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (REGESMEL): description and data from its first year in service.

The incidence of melanoma is growing in Spain. The prognostic stages of patients with melanoma are determined by various biological factors, such as tumor thickness, ulceration, or the presence of regional or distant metastases. The Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV) has encouraged the creation of a Spanish Melanoma Registry (REGESMEL) to evaluate other individual and health system-related factors that may impact the prognosis of patients with melanoma. The aim of this article is to introduce REGESMEL and provide basic descriptive data on to its first year in service. REGESMEL is a prospective, multicentre cohort of consecutive patients with invasive cutaneous melanoma that includes demographics, staging, individual, and health care-related baseline data, while storing the patients' health records and surgical treatment received. A total of 450 cases of invasive cutaneous melanoma from 19 participant centres were included, with a predominance of thin melanomas ≤ 1 mm thick (54.7%), mainly located on the posterior trunk (35.2%). Selective sentinel lymph node biopsy was performed in 40.7% of the cases. Most cases of melanoma were suspected by the patient (30.4%), or his/her dermatologist (29.6%). Patients received care mainly in public health centers (85.2%), with tele-dermatology resources being used in 21.6% of the cases. The distribution of the pathological and demographic variables of melanoma cases is consistent with data from former studies. REGESMEL has already recruited patients from 15 Spanish provinces and given its potential representativeness, it renders the Registry as an important tool to address a wide range of research questions.

Informations de copyright

Copyright © 2024 AEDV. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.