The importance of an oncology database in planning melanoma prevention programs

Abstract

Early detection and early treatment are key to melanoma survival. To organise prevention programs, we need to know the detailed datas of melanoma. Our objective was to assess and understand the epidemiological data of melanoma patients treated at our institution. We investigate whether the available database is suitable for more detailed epidemiological and morphological data analysis; and whether the results can contribute to the design of programs for melanoma prevention and detection. In our study, we retrospectively analyzed data from 636 melanoma patients treated at the Moritz Kaposi General Hospital, based on a unique clinical oncology patient pathway management system (Onkonetwork) database. We analyzed the distribution by sex and age, the subtype of melanoma, localization, tumor thickness, stage, risks, and detection mode. Our results showed that most melanoma cases occurred in women under 40 years and in men aged 60–79 years. There was an increase in the incidence of thin melanomas and a relatively stable incidence of thick melanomas. The study confirmed that the Onkonetwork system serves as a valuable database to support the identification of prevention sites where improvements in early detection, prevention and early treatment of melanoma are needed, tailored to the specific geographical location.