I.S. Panchenko1, 2, Yu.N. Romashkina2, S.V. Panchenko1, 2, M.G. Sharafutdinov2
1Regional Clinical Oncology Dispensary, Ulyanovsk
2Ulyanovsk State University, Ulyanovsk
Panchenko I.S. — PhD (Medicine), Deputy Chief doctor, Associate Professor of the Department of Oncology and Radiation Diagnostics named after O.P. Modnikov
90, September 12th St., 432017 Ulyanovsk, Russian Federation, tel.: +7 (8422) 32-39-05, e-mail: pan91ch@yandex.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-9006-2023
Abstract. Melanoma is demonstrating a steady increase in morbidity, while this tumor has an aggressive course due to tumor heterogeneity. Therefore, the search for prognostic markers of melanoma progression is extremely relevant. For this purpose, this study was conducted at Ulyanovsk Regional Clinical Oncology Dispensary, Department of Oncology and Radiation Diagnostics named after O.P. Modnikov of the Medical Faculty named after T.Z. Biktimirov (Institute of Medicine, Ecology and Physical Culture, Ulyanovsk State University) from February 2023 to June 2025. The study included 88 people diagnosed with skin melanoma of various localizations. All patients were treated at the Surgical Department of breast and skin tumors of Ulyanovsk Regional Clinical Oncological Dispensary. Criteria for inclusion were as follows: patients over the age of 18 with a verified diagnosis of skin melanoma of various localizations. The analysis included clinical (age, clinical stage, type of treatment, progression data) and morphological (clinical form, primary tumor location, Breslow thickness in mm, Clark levels of invasion, ulceration, mitotic index, lymphovascular invasion, lymphocytic infiltration, regression, margins of excision, transient and satellite metastases, BRAF-status) parameters. Statistical data were processed using the Microsoft Excel 2010 and Statistics 20 (StatSoft Inc., USA), MedCalc (version 20) software package. The relationship between factors and progression was assessed by constructing contingency tables and determining χ2 Pearson’s criterion. The relationship between clinical and morphological parameters and progression was described using discriminant analysis and logistic regression. The differences were considered statistically significant at p < 0.05. As a result, it was demonstrated with high statistical significance (p = 0.001) and with a high diagnostic accuracy of 95.7% that only one of the studied factors is interrelated with the disease progression: the Clark levels of invasion. The higher the level of invasion, the greater the number of cases of progression. The data obtained are consistent with the results of numerous studies conducted in different countries.
Key words: melanoma, prognostic markers of melanoma progression, Clark levels of invasion.