Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
BACKGROUND Large, prospective, randomized trials with long term follow-up are required to obtain an unbiased evaluation of the significance of resection margins in patients with cutaneous melanoma. METHODS The Swedish Melanoma Study Group performed a prospective, randomized, multicenter study of patients with primary melanoma located on trunk or extremities and with a tumor thickness > 0.8 mm and ≤ 2 mm. Patients were allocated randomly to a 2-cm excision margin or a 5-cm excision margin. In total, 989 patients were recruited during the period 1982–1991. The median follow-up was 11 years (range, 7–17 years) for estimation of survival and 8 years (range, 0–17 years) for evaluation of recurrent disease. RESULTS The crude rate of local recurrence, defined as a recurrence in the scar or transplant, was 0.8 mm thick and ≤ 2.0 mm thick. No difference in recurrence rate or survival between the two treatment groups was found. Patients in this category can be treated with a resection margin of 2 cm as safely as with a resection margin of 5 cm. Cancer 2000;89:1495–501. © 2000 American Cancer Society.
Cohn‐Cedermark et al. (Sun,) studied this question.