Cutaneous melanoma diagnosis delay: socioeconomic and demographic factors influence

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: Malignant cutaneous melanoma is the most aggressive type of skin cancer, and its early detection and prompt initiation of treatment play an important role in reducing disease-associated morbidity and mortality. Many factors influence the diagnosis of melanoma, and its recognition is essential for the development of strategies for its early detection. This study was carried out to Identify the main variables related to the delay in diagnosis of Malignant Cutaneous Melanoma and correlate them with the time interval for making the definitive diagnosis. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 103 patient records from January 2015 to December 2020 correlating social, economic, demographic, and cultural factors with the time elapsed between the onset of symptoms and the diagnosis of malignant cutaneous melanoma. RESULTS: The average time to seek medical services from the onset of symptoms was 29.54 months. The mean time for a referral from the primary to the referral service was 1.35 months, and the factors that contributed to a faster diagnosis were lesion Breslow (>1 mm), lesion growth, income range (≤1.5 minimum wages), lower phototypes (I and II), not having gone to the Basic Healthcare Units, profession (household), smoking, and type of housing. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that there is still a great delay in the recognition of signs and symptoms related to the diagnosis of malignant cutaneous melanoma in our country, influenced by several socioeconomic and demographic factors.

Aspectos morfológicos da cicratizaçäo das anastomoses colo-cólicas após injeçäo intraperitoneal de cisplatina: estudo experimental em ratos / Morphologic aspects of healing colon anastomosis effects of intraperitoneal cisplatin chemotherapy: experimental study in rats

A cisplatina intraperitoneal tem sido usada com sucesso nos carcinomas de ovário, cólon e estômago. Sua utilizaçäo tem sido estudada em relaçäo ao efeito negativo dos quimioterápicos na cicatrizaçäo. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi o estudo dos aspectos morfológicos da cicatrizaçäo das anastomoses colo-cólicas em rato. Foram utilizados ratos alocados em 2 grupos: grupo controle (grupo I-n=12), que recebeu S.F. 0,9 por cento i.p. antes da cirurgia, e o grupo experimento (grupo II-n=12), onde foi administrada 6 mg/kg de cisplatina i.p. no pré-operatório. Os animais de ambos os grupos, foram sacrificados no 3, 7 e 14 de pós-operatório. A cicatrizaçäo das anastomoses foi avaliada pelo aspecto macroscópico e histológico. Foram verificadas diminuiçäo da mucosecreçäo e achatamento das criptas nos animais do grupo II (cisplatina). O número de vasos/campos foi maior no grupo II (p<0,01) e a quantidade de núcleos fusiformes foi maior no grupo controle (p<0,01) no 7 dia de pós-operatório; o tecido de granulaçäo e área de necrose foram maiores nos tratados com cisplatina (p<0,01). A cisplatina näo impede, mas retarda a cicatrizaçäo das anastomoses de cólon em ratos