Consider the Early Diagnosis of Melanoma in Foot Examinations of Older Adults

The excellent paper by James et al1 describing foot examinations of older adults emphasizes the importance of this physical inspection; however, it does not mention the importance of an early diagnosis of melanoma at this particular site. Foot and subungual melanomas have an average 5.03 mm in thickness (the most important index for the prognosis of melanoma) at diagnosis, but at other cutaneous sites, melanomas average is about 0.8 mm in thickness. As a result, both overall and disease-free survival rates are worse for those with melanomas in the foot.
Source: The American Journal of Medicine - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Letter Source Type: research