Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Geographic Distribution Of Melanoma Cases In Maine: Identifying Vulnerable Counties For Targeted Intervention, Joshua R. Parbs, Madeline Prentiss, Calla Hladky, Henry Stoddard, Kathryn Stevens, Elizabeth V. Seiverling, Peggy Cyr

Journal of Maine Medical Center

Introduction: Maine has the twelfth highest incidence of melanoma in the United States. The purpose of this study was to determine which Maine counties were the most impacted by melanoma through the use of geographical methods. Identification of counties with the highest prevalence of melanoma will help in targeting future training and public health interventions.

Methods: All melanoma cases (n=5,340) reported to the Maine CDC Cancer Registry from 2013 to 2018 were sorted by pathologic T stage. Data were sorted by county and population-adjusted. Population data and provider data came from Area Health Resource Files. County and zip-code maps were …

Total Body Photography And Sequential Digital Dermoscopy Imaging For Melanoma Surveillance In Patients Starting Natalizumab For Multiple Sclerosis, Tyler Nussinow Ba, Amanda Robinson Np, Biljana Beretich Md, Kathryn Stevens Np, Elizabeth Seiverling Md

Journal of Maine Medical Center

Introduction: Natalizumab is an integrin receptor antagonist that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease. The drug has been linked to an increased risk of melanoma. This brief report highlights an innovative clinical approach for monitoring the skin of patients prescribed natalizumab.

Methods: We include 2 cases from our skin oncology clinic and a literature review on the incidence of melanoma in patients prescribed natalizumab between 2004 and 2019.

Results: In addition to our 2 cases, we found 193 reports of patients with melanoma who were prescribed natalizumab. We propose an …

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 …