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COMMENTS AND OPINIONS
Increasing Ratio of Thin to Thick Melanoma Lesions: Pathogenesis and Early Detection of This Cancer
Jean-Claude Bystryn, MD
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In his editorial "Growth Rate, Early Detection, and Prevention of Melanoma," Lipsker1 argues that because the actual number of thick melanoma lesions remains stable while that of thin melanoma lesions is increasing rapidly, there are 2 types of melanomas: thick melanomas, whose incidence is stable; and thin melanomas, whose incidence is increasing. He believes that the most challenging task is to identify the risk factors associated with thick, fast-growing melanomas.
There is an alternate explanation for this observation, which leads to a different recommendation. The increasing incidence of melanoma has been associated with a steady improvement in our ability to diagnose this cancer early, with a resulting continuous decline in the average thickness of melanoma at diagnosis. As a consequence, the proportion of melanomas that are thick at diagnosis will steadily decline. That the absolute number of thick melanomas is not declining probably simply reflects that they . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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RELATED LETTER
Increasing Ratio of Thin to Thick Melanoma Lesions: Pathogenesis and Early Detection of This Cancer—Reply
Dan Lipsker
Arch Dermatol. 2007;143(6):804-805.
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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
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Dermoscopy and the Diagnostic Challenge of Amelanotic and Hypomelanotic Melanoma
Stoecker and Stolz
Arch Dermatol 2008;144:1207-1210.
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