Surgery
Volume 148, Issue 4 , Pages 711-717 , October 2010

Surveillance after surgical treatment of melanoma: Futility of routine chest radiography

Presented at the 67th Annual Meeting of the Central Surgical Association, Chicago, Illinois, March 10–13, 2010.

  • Russell E. Brown, MD

      Affiliations

    • Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Louisville, James Graham Brown Cancer Center and Center for Advanced Surgical Technologies (CAST) of Norton Hospital Louisville, Louisville, KY
    • ,
  • Arnold J. Stromberg, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Statistics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
    • ,
  • Lee J. Hagendoorn, MBA

      Affiliations

    • Advertek Inc., Louisville, KY
    • ,
  • Deborah Y. Hulsewede, CCRC, CCRP

      Affiliations

    • Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Louisville, James Graham Brown Cancer Center and Center for Advanced Surgical Technologies (CAST) of Norton Hospital Louisville, Louisville, KY
    • ,
  • Merrick I. Ross, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Surgical Oncology, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
    • ,
  • R. Dirk Noyes, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Surgery, LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, UT
    • ,
  • James S. Goydos, MD

      Affiliations

    • Cancer Institute of New Jersey, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ
    • ,
  • Marshall M. Urist, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Surgery, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL
    • ,
  • Michael J. Edwards, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
    • ,
  • Charles R. Scoggins, MD, MBA

      Affiliations

    • Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Louisville, James Graham Brown Cancer Center and Center for Advanced Surgical Technologies (CAST) of Norton Hospital Louisville, Louisville, KY
    • ,
  • Kelly M. McMasters, MD, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Louisville, James Graham Brown Cancer Center and Center for Advanced Surgical Technologies (CAST) of Norton Hospital Louisville, Louisville, KY
    • ,
  • Robert C.G. Martin II, MD, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Louisville, James Graham Brown Cancer Center and Center for Advanced Surgical Technologies (CAST) of Norton Hospital Louisville, Louisville, KY
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Robert C. G. Martin II, MD, PhD, Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, 315 E. Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202.

,Accepted 15 July 2010.

References 

  1. Jemal A, Siegel R, Ward E, Hao Y, Xu J, Thun MJ. Cancer statistics, 2009. CA Cancer J Clin. 2009;59:225–249
  2. Balch CM, Gershenwald JE, Soong SJ, Thompson JF, Atkins MB, Byrd DR, et al. Final version of 2009 AJCC melanoma staging and classification. J Clin Oncol. 2009;27:6199–6206
  3. Lee ML, Tomsu K, Von Eschen KB. Duration of survival for disseminated malignant melanoma: results of a meta-analysis. Melanoma Res. 2000;10:81–92
  4. Francken AB, Bastiaannet E, Hoekstra HJ. Follow-up in patients with localised primary cutaneous melanoma. Lancet Oncol. 2005;6:608–621
  5. Provost N, Marghoob AA, Kopf AW, DeDavid M, Wasti Q, Bart RS. Laboratory tests and imaging studies in patients with cutaneous malignant melanomas: a survey of experienced physicians. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1997;36(5 Pt 1):711–720
  6. NCCN clinical practice guidelines in oncology (NCCN Guidelines™). National Comprehensive Cancer Network Web site. http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/f_guidelines.asp. Accessed 009;ME-5.
  7. Lifchez SD, Kelamis JA. Melanoma: workup and surveillance. Clin Plast Surg. 2010;37:55–63
  8. Christianson DF, Anderson CM. Close monitoring and lifetime follow-up is optimal for patients with a history of melanoma. Semin Oncol. 2003;30:369–374
  9. Sober AJ, Chuang TY, Duvic M, Farmer ER, Grichnik JM, Halpern AC, et al. Guidelines of care for primary cutaneous melanoma. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2001;45:579–586
  10. McMasters KM, Noyes RD, Reintgen DS, Goydos JS, Beitsch PD, Davidson BS, et al. Lessons learned from the Sunbelt Melanoma Trial. J Surg Oncol. 2004;86:212–223
  11. Scoggins CR, Ross MI, Reintgen DS, Noyes RD, Goydos JS, Beitsch PD, et al. Prospective multi-institutional study of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for molecular staging of melanoma. J Clin Oncol. 2006;24:2849–2857
  12. Wilson EB. Probable inference, the law of succession, and statistical inference. J Am Stat Assoc. 1927;22:209–212
  13. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Guide to clinical preventive services. 2nd ed.. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins; 1996;
  14. Morton RL, Craig JC, Thompson JF. The role of surveillance chest X-rays in the follow-up of high-risk melanoma patients. Ann Surg Oncol. 2009;16:571–577
  15. Garbe C, Paul A, Kohler-Spath H, Ellwanger U, Stroebel W, Schwarz M, et al. Prospective evaluation of a follow-up schedule in cutaneous melanoma patients: recommendations for an effective follow-up strategy. J Clin Oncol. 2003;21:520–529
  16. Hofmann U, Szedlak M, Rittgen W, Jung EG, Schadendorf D. Primary staging and follow-up in melanoma patients—monocenter evaluation of methods, costs and patient survival. Br J Cancer. 2002;87:151–157
  17. Wang TS, Johnson TM, Cascade PN, Redman BG, Sondak VK, Schwartz JL. Evaluation of staging chest radiographs and serum lactate dehydrogenase for localized melanoma. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2004;51:399–405
  18. Mooney MM, Mettlin C, Michalek AM, Petrelli NJ, Kraybill WG. Life-long screening of patients with intermediate-thickness cutaneous melanoma for asymptomatic pulmonary recurrences: a cost-effectiveness analysis. Cancer. 1997;80:1052–1064
  19. Leiter U, Marghoob AA, Lasithiotakis K, Eigentler TK, Meier F, Meisner C, et al. Costs of the detection of metastases and follow-up examinations in cutaneous melanoma. Melanoma Res. 2009;19:50–57
  20. Young SE, Martinez SR, Essner R. The role of surgery in treatment of stage IV melanoma. J Surg Oncol. 2006;94:344–351
  21. Petersen RP, Hanish SI, Haney JC, Miller CC, Burfeind WR, Tyler DS, et al. Improved survival with pulmonary metastasectomy: an analysis of 1720 patients with pulmonary metastatic melanoma. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2007;133:104–110
  22. Harpole DH, Johnson CM, Wolfe WG, George SL, Seigler HF. Analysis of 945 cases of pulmonary metastatic melanoma. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1992;103:743–748discussion 748-50
  23. Tsao H, Feldman M, Fullerton JE, Sober AJ, Rosenthal D, Goggins W. Early detection of asymptomatic pulmonary melanoma metastases by routine chest radiographs is not associated with improved survival. Arch Dermatol. 2004;140:67–70
  24. Garbe C. A rational approach to the follow-up of melanoma patients. Recent Results Cancer Res. 2002;160:205–215
  25. Wong SL. Surveillance chest X-rays for melanoma: prescription or proscription?. Ann Surg Oncol. 2009;16:552–553
  26. Francken AB, Hoekstra HJ. Follow-up of melanoma patients: the need for evidence-based protocols. Ann Surg Oncol. 2009;16:804–805

PII: S0039-6060(10)00410-1

doi: 10.1016/j.surg.2010.07.042

Surgery
Volume 148, Issue 4 , Pages 711-717 , October 2010

Article Tools