Scalp and Neck Melanomas, More Deadly
April 22, 2008 by Gloria Gamat
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Melanoma – a skin cancer – when on scalp and the neck are more deadly. Such were the findings of a team from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC).
Researchers analyzed 51,704 melanoma cases in the United States and found that patients with scalp or neck melanomas died at 1.84 times the rate of patients with melanoma elsewhere on the body, including the face or ears.
The five-year survival rate for patients with scalp-neck melanomas was 83 percent, compared with 92 percent for patients with melanomas at other sites. The 10-year survival rate was 76 percent for scalp-neck melanomas and 89 percent for other melanomas.
The findings confirm that melanoma patient survival rates differ depending on where the cancer first appeared, the researchers said.
Because the melanoma is near the head/brain when it’s on the scalp and neck. That alone makes it more deadly, don’t you think?!
Th findings suggests that doctors should pay more attention to the scalp when examining for melanoma.
The Washington Post has the full report.
