Management of Primary Cutaneous Melanoma of the Hands and Feet

BACKGROUND: Although acral lentiginous melanoma is the most common subtype of malignant melanoma in acral locations, the term acral melanoma (AM) has to be differentiated from the histopathologic description. OBJECTIVES: To characterize the clinical and pathologic features of patients with a primary AM and to elucidate whether the prognosis of patients with AM differs from that of those with melanoma at other sites (nonacral melanoma; NAM). PATIENTS AND METHOD: Over a 20-year period, a series of 822 consecutive patients with melanoma were recorded in the database. Clinical and follow-up data were retrieved from the melanoma register and prospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Eighty-nine patients had a malignant melanoma located on the acral sites of extremities. Breslow thickness and Clark level were found to be related to specific and disease-free survival. Breslow thickness greater than 4 mm was associated with greater risk of recurrence, and amelanosis and age of 60 and older were significantly associated with greater risk of death. Comparison of survival of patients with AM with that of those with NAM clearly showed that disease-free survival and overall survival were significantly lower in the former. CONCLUSION: Survival differences between patients with AM and NAM are due to differences in already known prognostic factors, probably as a consequence of a delay in the diagnosis in these locations.