JOURNAL of
ONCOLOGICAL
SCIENCES

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Is the frequency of primary cutaneous melanoma increasing in Turkey? An evaluation of the experiences of two dermatology centers
Received Date : 12 Mar 2017
Accepted Date : 12 Nov 2017
Doi: 10.1016/j.jons.2017.11.002 - Article's Language: EN
Journal of Oncological Sciences 4 (2018) 19-23
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
ABSTRACT
Introduction and purpose: Since there are only a few population-based studies about the incidence of melanoma in Turkey which do not cover the whole population, we aimed to contribute the data regarding the current situation and the changes in the frequency of primary cutaneous melanoma (PCM) diagnosis in our country by evaluating our results and comparing them with national literature from Turkey. Methods: Consecutive PCM lesions diagnosed at the Dermatovenereology Departments of the Istanbul Medical Faculty (first center) between 1997 and 2016 and of the Ankara Medical Faculty (second center) between 2007 and 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. The yearly number of PCMs diagnosed in each clinic over study period were compared about any change in the frequency of melanoma diagnosis. Results: There were 239 and 183 PCMs diagnosed in the two centers in twenty and ten years study period and the mean PCM diagnosis per year was 11.9 and 18.3, respectively. The number of PCM diagnosis markedly increased over time in both centers: 36, 45, 75 and 83 diagnosis for the subsequent five-year periods in the first center and 51 and 132 diagnosis for the subsequent five-year periods, in the second center. Discussion: It was striking that the number of PCM diagnosis increased steadily in both dermatovenereology centers. As several large melanoma series have been reported from various disciplines all over Turkey in the last two decades and numerous of them have also drawn attention to the increasing frequency of PCM diagnosis similar to our results, supporting data about increasing incidence of melanoma diagnosis for our country have been obtained.