Auricular and periauricular melanomas have similar clinicopathologic factors and survival rates

Abstract

Background: Auricular melanomas are rare malignancies, and conflicting reports regarding their clinical behaviors have been published so far. Objective In this study, we investigated the clinical features of the auricular melanomas and compared them with periauricular skin melanomas. Methods: Data of 53 primary melanomas arising in auricular (n = 25) and periauricular regions (n = 28) were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Demographic, histopathological, and clinical characteristics were found similar between auricular and periauricular melanomas (p > 0.05). Likewise, the recurrence rates for both groups were found to be similar (30%) (p = 0.9). The 5-year relapse-free survival rate of all patients was 57.4%, and no statistical difference was observed between the two groups-63.9% for auricular melanomas and 51.7% for periauricular melanomas (p = 0.5). Moreover, the 5-year overall survival rate of all melanomas was 46.9%, and there was no statistical significance between the two groups-56.1% and 37.4% for auricular and periauricular melanomas, respectively (p = 0.4). Conclusion: Auricular and periauricular melanomas share similar clinicopathologic features and outcomes.