Diagnostic biopsy of melanoma: primary or secondary care?

摘要

Murchie et al1 compared morbidity and mortality in patients who had initial diagnostic excision biopsy in primary versus secondary care. The Breslow thickness of a melanoma is the main prognostic indicator in the melanoma patients included in this study. The mean thickness in both the primary and secondary care groups was ≤1mm: such patients have a 95% 10-year survival rate,2 so that mortality and morbidity are not particularly relevant endpoints.