Cutaneous Melanoma: A Single Center Experience in Brazil

The aim is to evaluate the profile of cutaneous melanoma in rural and urban areas of the State of Espírito Santo and compare the results between them. The information collected included gender and age at diagnosis, city of residence, tumor morphology, anatomic site, histological subtype, level of invasion, tumor thickness and staging. A retrospective observational study was conducted, using the Pathology Department's database of Hospital Universitário Cassiano Antonio de Moraes (HUCAM). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics. A total of 258 histopathological reports of Cutaneous Melanomas were identified between 2003 and 2016. This skin cancer was more common among women, in the age group from 50 to 79 years. The majority of lesions was localized in the malar region of the face, usually classified as in situ or with superficial invasion and presented Breslow's thickness less than 1 mm. Regarding the diagnosis, the male population was older and had more aggressive melanomas with higher rates of Clark's levels IV and V and Breslow's thickness when compared to the female group. There was a great concentration of patients in the central mesoregion (173 cases—67.06%), probably because this is the most populous regional area of Espírito Santo. The prevalence of melanoma between 2003-2016 was higher in the rural area (21.52 cases/100,000 habitants) when compared to the urban area (4.15 cases/100,000 habitants).