{
  "abstract": "Background\n\nPatients undergoing treatment for cutaneous melanoma are generally considered cured after a period of 5 years, since most recurrences manifest within three to 5 years. However, some patients can present with a delayed recurrence of melanoma beyond a 10-year timeframe.Objective\n\nTo identify clinicopathologic factors associated with survival in patients with cutaneous melanoma who developed metastatic recurrence at least 5 years after primary diagnosis.Methods\n\nWe conducted a retrospective single-center cohort study of 30 patients with cutaneous melanoma developing metastatic recurrence at least 5 years post-diagnosis. The cohort contained 18 women and 12 men (mean age 50.2; range 25-76). Variables included age, sex, BRAF status, site, melanoma subtype, Breslow thickness, ulceration, Clark level, regression, and recurrence localization. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and post-recurrence survival (PRS) were evaluated via Cox proportional hazards models.Results\n\nMean OS, PFS, and PRS were 168.7, 130.4, and 43.7 months, respectively. Eight patients (27%) died. Tumors averaged 2.61 mm Breslow thickness; 50.0% were BRAF-mutant, 53.3% ulcerated, and 50.0% truncal. Recurrences were locoregional (cutaneous, subcutaneous, in-transit, nodal) in eight (26.7%) and distant in 21 (70.0%); one lacked data. Female sex predicted better univariate OS (HR 0.055, 95% CI 0.01-0.47; p = 0.008) and multivariate PFS (HR 0.364, 95% CI 0.14-0.93; p = 0.035). Increasing age predicted shorter multivariate PFS (HR 1.072, 95% CI 1.03-1.12; p = 0.001). Histologic regression (HR 3.557, 95% CI 1.04-12.17; p = 0.043) and BRAF status (HR 0.413, 95% CI 0.18-0.94; p = 0.034) independently impacted PFS. Kaplan-Meier showed longer OS and PFS in women, and longer PFS in patients younger than 50 years.Conclusions\n\nDelayed recurrence can manifest over a decade post-diagnosis. Female sex and younger age correlate with favorable survival. These findings underscore the necessity of continued clinical vigilance and patient counseling beyond 10 years, although larger cohorts are needed to validate late-recurrence risk stratification.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.",
    "Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA.",
    "Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA.",
    "Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.",
    "Department of Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery, Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.",
    "Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.",
    "Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.",
    "Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Dermatooncology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.",
    "Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Szent-Györgyi Albert Medical School, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.",
    "School of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.",
    "Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, and UCL Genetics Institute, University College London, London, UK."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 19,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kaspar Itin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Rebecca Lapides",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-5871-5680"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Soumya Paria"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Babak Saravi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Alina M Torrez"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        5,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Lara Valeska Maul"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Michael Wang-Evers",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6461-4891"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Alexander A Navarini"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Dieter Manstein"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Beata Kun"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Leticia Szadai"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Judit Olàh"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Eszter Baltas",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0357-7393"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Rolland Gyulai"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Peter Hollo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Grzegorz Sarek",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1331-3351"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Istvan B Németh"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9,
        10
      ],
      "name": "Kaustubh Adhikari"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Elisabeth Roider"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/94fzegb6kf29s.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1002/cam4.72389",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13717062",
  "id": "94fzegb6kf29s",
  "issns": [
    "2045-7634"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42952107",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Research Article"
    ],
    [
      "lcc",
      "RC254-282"
    ],
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      "2730|Cutaneous Melanoma Detection and Management"
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  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13717062?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13717062",
  "pmid": "42952107",
  "published": "2026-10-28",
  "publisher": "Wiley",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/94fzegb6kf29s.ris",
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2730|Cutaneous Melanoma Detection and Management",
      "subfield": "oncology"
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  ],
  "title": "Investigating Risk Factors for Delayed Melanoma Recurrence Beyond 5 Years Post-Primary Tumor Diagnosis.",
  "title_text": "Investigating Risk Factors for Delayed Melanoma Recurrence Beyond 5 Years Post-Primary Tumor Diagnosis.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-02T12:21:27Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/94fzegb6kf29s",
  "venue": "Cancer medicine",
  "versions": []
}