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Based on the results of international multicenter randomized trials, completion lymph node dissection for patients with sentinel lymph node-positive melanoma is no longer routinely recommended. However, clinicians should take into consideration racial and medical resource differences when applying this evidence to clinical practice in Japan. To evaluate the clinical validity of the observation policy of omitting completion lymph node dissection, we retrospectively surveyed patients with sentinel lymph node-positive melanoma between 2002 and 2020 at Niigata Cancer Center Hospital. A total of 59 patients were categorized into the observation group (n = 19) and completion lymph node dissection group (n = 40). Newly developed anticancer agents, including targeted therapy and immunotherapy, were more commonly used in the observation group than in the completion lymph node dissection group as either adjuvant therapy (31.6% vs. 5.0%) or post-recurrence therapy (100% vs. 34.8%). The median overall survival in the observation group (not reached) was significantly longer than that in the completion lymph node dissection group (95.0 months; p = 0.02), which was mainly attributed to the difference in post-recurrence overall survival. There was no significant difference in recurrence-free survival between the two groups (p = 0.63). Although the use of new anticancer agents leads to bias, this study demonstrates that observation without prompt completion lymph node dissection provides a favorable overall survival without increasing the risk of recurrence compared with completion lymph node dissection. The observation policy for patients with sentinel lymph node-positive melanoma patients is considered to be clinically valid in real-world medical practice.

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer, and surgical excision with clear margins is the standard of care. Surgical margins are determined based on risk factors (high or low risk) for recurrence according to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and Japanese basal cell carcinoma guidelines. The clarity of the clinical tumor border (well-defined or poorly defined) is considered a risk factor, and significant discrepancies in the judgment of clinical tumor borders among dermato-oncologists may occur. Therefore, we analyzed the dermato-oncologists' concordance in judging the clinical tumor border of basal cell carcinoma. Forty-seven dermato-oncologists (experts: 37; young trainees: 10) participated in this study. The datasets of clinical and dermoscopic photographs of 79 Japanese cases of head and neck basal cell carcinoma were used to determine the concordance in the judgment of clinical tumor border. The probability of the border that was selected more often was used to calculate the rater agreement rate for each dataset. Correct judgment was defined as a more frequently selected border, and the concordance rate of clarity of clinical tumor border for each dermato-oncologist was calculated based on the definition of the correct judgment. A median concordance rate of 85% or higher for all dermato-oncologists was predefined as an acceptable rate for clinical use. Of the 79 datasets, rater agreement rates were 80-100%, 60-79%, and 51-59% for 55, 19, and five datasets, respectively. The median concordance rate for all dermato-oncologists was 86% (interquartile range: 82-89%). There was no significant difference in the concordance rate between the experts and the trainees (median, 87% vs. 85.5%; p = 0.58). The concordance rates of dermato-oncologists for all datasets were relatively high and acceptable for clinical use.

The incidence of skin cancers is on the rise due to population growth and aging.1 The eyelid region is one of the common sites for skin cancers, the majority of which are basal cell carcinoma, followed by squamous cell carcinoma and sebaceous carcinoma.2 Of note, the lower eyelid is more prone to be affected by skin cancers. The eyelid is composed of anterior and posterior lamellae, and when full-thickness lower eyelid defects cannot be directly closed, reconstruction of both the posterior and anterior lamellae, along with tarsal plate replacement, are typically performed.3 However, elderly patients with skin cancer may not be amenable to such extensive surgery. Between 1997 and 2019 at our hospital, 5 patients underwent successful reconstruction of full-thickness lower eyelid defects with the repair of only the anterior lamella while allowing the posterior lamellar portion to heal secondarily. We herein report one representative case. In addition, we discuss the clinical validity of less extensive surgery for elderly patients by allowing the posterior lamellar portions of lower eyelid defects to heal secondarily.

As cancer treatment advances, the need for dermatologists in the treatment process is increasing. Cancer patients often experience cutaneous manifestations of internal diseases and dermatological adverse events from chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and stem cell transplants. These diminish patients' health-related quality of life and negatively affect cancer treatment adherence. To identify the dermatologist's role, we analyzed 893 cases of in-hospital dermatology consultations at the Niigata Cancer Center Hospital during 2019. The number of dermatology consultations was the second highest among all hospital departments. Malignant tumors accounted for 91.7% of the underlying diseases, including hematological, gastrointestinal, and lung cancer as the top three primary cancers. The most common consultation category was inflammatory skin disorders (29.2%), followed by chemotherapy-related skin disorders (23.5%), cutaneous infections (11.5%), skin tumors (9.5%), and continued treatment of pre-existing skin disorders (8.8%). The average intervention time was the longest for continued treatment of existing skin disorders (229 ± 60.6 days), followed by malignant wound management (126 ± 60.6 days) and chemotherapy-related skin disorders (122 ± 60.6 days). The median overall survival time of the 27 patients in the malignant wound management group was 5 months (95% confidence interval, 1.8-8.2 months) from the initial dermatology consultation. Our results show an increasing demand for dermatologists in cancer management. However, the number of full-time dermatologists is insufficient in some Japanese cancer hospitals. There is a need to consider increasing the number of adequately trained dermatologists in cancer medical settings.

Advances in anticancer therapy, including the development of targeted therapy and immunotherapy, have drastically changed treatment options for metastatic melanoma. However, to date, only a few studies have been published that directly compare overall survival (OS) before and after introduction of these new therapeutic options in Japan. We retrospectively surveyed patients with metastatic melanoma treated in our hospital between 1989 and 2019 to investigate the OS benefit of the new therapies. A total of 115 patients with metastatic melanoma (cutaneous origin, 92; mucosal, 14; uveal, two) were included in the study. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the patient group receiving targeted therapy/immunotherapy (TT/IT) (n = 47) had a median OS of 19.0 months, which was longer than that in patients receiving conventional chemotherapy (n = 42, 8.0 months) or no treatment (n = 26, 6.0 months) (P < 0.001). In the subgroup analysis performed for the TT/IT group, patients of younger age and with the BRAF mutation had significantly improved OS. As the number of treatment lines increased, the median OS tended to become longer. Our real-world data confirmed an improvement of median OS upon the introduction of the new therapies for metastatic melanoma. However, the long-term OS benefit was limited, possibly because of racial differences in some of the clinical characteristics. To improve the overall melanoma prognosis, the entire treatment strategy, including perioperative therapy needs strengthening.