Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases Commons^™

Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma: A Synthesis On Updated Guidelines For The Primary Care Perspective, Seetha Venkateswaran, Nicholas D'Angelo

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) is a condition wherein malignant cells form in the melanocytic cells. CMM is a potentially lethal form of skin cancer, commonly found in sun-exposed areas of the body. There are multiple risk factors for disease development, such as genetic mutation and UV radiation among others. Diagnosis and staging is important in determining disease morbidity and mortality. The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) have their respective guidelines and consensus on diagnosis, staging and treatment. It is imperative to delineate and educate primary care physicians on CMM, as they …

End-Of-Life Healthcare Use Of Medicare Patients With Melanoma Based On Patient Characteristics And Year Of Death, Rebecca N. Hutchinson, F. Lee Lucas, Kathleen Fairfield

Journal of Maine Medical Center

Background: Many cancer patients receive overly-intensive care at end-of-life (EOL), despite recognition that this is a marker of poor quality. There is limited knowledge about care received by patients dying with melanoma.

Objective: We characterized healthcare utilization during EOL and patient characteristics associated with variations in care. We also described how utilization changed over time.

Methods: We used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare database to identify 9099 melanoma patients aged 65+ at diagnosis between 2000 and 2009, who died by 12/31/2010. We included patients enrolled in Medicare part A and B six-months prior to diagnosis and not in managed …