Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on melanoma: A retrospective study from the French clinical database of melanoma patients (RIC-Mel) - 11/12/25
, S. Mouret b, A. Seigneurin c, H. Montaudié d, E. Maubec e, F. Grange f, G. Quereux g, P. Célérier h, M. Amini-Adle i, S. Dalac-Rat j, J. De Quatrebarbes k, O. Zehou l, A. Safia m, P. Muller n, P. Modiano o, L. Misery p, N. Litrowski q, F. Brunet-Possenti r, L. Mortier s, G. Bens t, A. Hervieu u, N. Leduc v, T. Jouary w, C. Lesage x, N. Beneton y, Y. Le Corre z, L. Geoffrois aa, D. Thomas-Beaulieu ab, E. Hainaut ac, J. Charles b, ad, M.-T. Leccia b, ad
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Abstract |
Background |
COVID-19 pandemic had a variable impact on the severity of melanomas.
Objective |
To assess the role of the COVID-19 pandemic in France on the severity of melanomas at initial diagnosis.
Methods |
New melanoma cases recorded in the French RIC-Mel database were included in a retrospective study spanning three timeframes: pre-COVID (01/01/2018 to 03/16/2020), lockdown (03/17/2020 to 10/05/2020), and the COVID pandemic period (hereafter referred to as “COVID”) (11/05/2020 to 30/09/2022). Patient and melanoma characteristics at diagnosis, along with time intervals to lymph node procedures and initiation of systemic treatments, were extracted. Statistical comparisons were conducted between the pre-COVID and COVID periods.
Results |
A total of 3650 patients in the pre-COVID period were included: 121 during lockdown, and 2878 during the COVID period. Melanomas diagnosed during the COVID period were thicker (median 1.5 mm; interquartile range [IQR]: 0.7–3.6) compared to those in the pre-COVID period (median 1.2 mm; IQR: 0.5–3.0; p < 0.0001) and more frequently ulcerated (25.4 % vs. 20.6 %; p < 0.0001). The average number of melanomas diagnosed per day decreased from 4.53 (pre-COVID) to 3.30 (COVID), primarily due to reductions in Tis (−32.4 %) and T1 stage diagnoses (−32.5 %).
Adjusted odds ratios (adj OR), accounting for age at diagnosis, sex, personal history of melanoma, and treatment center, indicated increased frequency of advanced tumor stages during the COVID period: T2 (adj OR = 1.23; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.0519–1.459; p = 0.0130), T3 (adj OR = 1.204; 95 % CI: 1.027–1.425; p = 0.0310), and T4 (adj OR = 1.467; 95 % CI: 1.237–1.731; p < 0.001). Stage III cases rose from 6.3 % to 11.9 % (adj OR = 2.05; 95 % CI: 1.67–2.51; p < 0.001). Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) rates almost doubled (40.3 % vs. 23.4 %; p < 0.001), with a higher positivity rate (adj OR = 1.26; 95 % CI: 1.02–1.56; p = 0.035). Interval times between diagnosis and SLNB, as well as initiation of systemic therapy, remained similar across study periods.
Conclusion |
In France, the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a higher proportion of severe melanoma cases, partially attributed to a reduction in the diagnosis of thin melanomas.
Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.Keywords : Melanoma, COVID-19, Epidemiology, Primary cutaneous invasive melanoma, Prognosis, Time to treatment, Delay
Plan
Vol 152 - N° 4
Article 103418- décembre 2025 Retour au numéro
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