Melanoma: Diagnostics

Introduction Different protocols have been used to follow up melanoma patients in stage I–II. However, there is no consensus on the complementary tests that should be requested or the appropriate intervals between visits. Our aim is to compare an ultrasound-based follow-up with a clinical follow-up. Patients and methods Analysis of two prospectively collected cohorts of melanoma patients in stage IB–IIA from two tertiary referral centres in Barcelona (clinical-based follow-up [C-FU]) and Turin (ultrasound-based follow-up [US-FU]). Kaplan–Meier curves were used to evaluate distant metastases-free survival (DMFS), disease-free interval (DFI), nodal metastases-free survival (NMFS) and melanoma-specific survival (MSS). Results A total of 1149 patients in the American Joint Committee...