Cutaneous head and neck melanoma (CHNM): A population-based study of the prognostic impact of tumor location.

BACKGROUND: Most studies of cutaneous head and neck melanomas (CHNM) have reported poorer survival in CHNM compared with other sites, especially on the scalp/neck. OBJECTIVE: We sought to compare patient and tumor characteristics between CHNM and cutaneous trunk and extremity melanomas and between CHNM locations (face/ear vs scalp/neck, anterior vs posterior), and to study prognostic factors in patients with CHNM. METHODS: We studied all CHNM (n = 1074) from 8120 cases of cutaneous melanomas diagnosed in Norway in 2008 to 2012. RESULTS: Compared with cutaneous trunk and extremity melanomas, CHNM were more frequently found in men, more often nodular and lentigo maligna cutaneous melanomas, and diagnosed at higher T stage (P ≤ .01). CHNM located on posterior sites were diagnosed at significantly higher T stage, and were significantly more often diagnosed with ulceration and at more advanced stage compared with CHNM located on anterior sites (P < .001). T stage and clinical stage were the only significant prognostic factors for melanoma-specific and overall death in the multivariable analysis (P < .001). LIMITATIONS: Low number of cases and the relatively high frequency of missing values are limitations. CONCLUSION: More advanced CHNM were diagnosed on posterior compared with anterior locations, but location was not a significant prognostic factor for cutaneous melanoma-specific or overall death in the multivariable models.