Smoking Associated with Increased Mortality Risk in Melanoma Patients: JAMA

A recent cohort study published in the explored the relationship between smoking and survival rates among patients with early-stage primary cutaneous melanoma. The key findings of this study were published in the Journal of American Medical Association.

This study conducted a meticulous analysis of data from the Multicenter Selective Lymphadenectomy Trials (MSLT-I and MSLT-II) and encompassed a substantial cohort of patients who were diagnosed with clinical stage I and II melanoma. The research spanned from 1994 to 2014 and carefully tracked smoking habits of the participants and their subsequent melanoma-specific survival rates.

This study analyzed a total of 6,279 patients included in this research and found that current smokers faced a significantly higher risk of death due to melanoma when compared to their non-smoking counterparts. The risk was more pronounced among the individuals with sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB)-negative melanoma, where current smokers were more than twice as likely to succumb to the disease.

The study underlined the association between smoking and adverse prognostic factors, like the male sex, younger age, thicker tumors, tumor ulceration, and SLNB positivity. These findings reconfirm the importance of considering smoking status as an important factor in assessing the risk of disease progression and mortality in melanoma patients.

Smoking status should be routinely evaluated at the time of melanoma diagnosis, as it might be a pivotal indicator for the disease prognosis and can guide treatment strategies. This research signals toward a better understanding of the complex interplay between smoking and melanoma outcomes.

Source:

Jackson, K. M., Jones, P. C., Fluke, L. M., Fischer, T. D., Thompson, J. F., Cochran, A. J., Stern, S. L., Faries, M. B., Hoon, D. S. B., & Foshag, L. J. (2024). Smoking Status and Survival in Patients With Early-Stage Primary Cutaneous Melanoma. In JAMA Network Open (Vol. 7, Issue 2, p. e2354751). American Medical Association (AMA). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.54751