Photo Credit: Nelson Hernandez Chitiva

Patients with clinical stage 1 or 2 melanoma who were smokers at the time of diagnosis had a significantly increased risk of melanoma-specific mortality, according to data published in JAMA Network Open. To examine the association between smoking and survival in patients with early-stage primary cutaneous melanoma, Katherine M. Jackson, MD, and colleagues performed a post-hoc analysis of data derived from the randomized, multinational first and second Multicenter Selective Lymphadenectomy Trials, which assessed the smoking status of 6,279 patients with stage 1 or 2 melanoma. Current smoking was linked to a significantly higher risk of melanoma-associated death (HR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.26-1.75; P<0.001). Former smoking, however, did not show the same association. Dr. Jackson and colleagues noted that current smoking was particularly detrimental for patients with sentinel lymph node biopsy-negative melanoma, as the risk of death doubled for patients smoking at least 20 cigarettes per day (HR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.36-3.13; P<0.001). Although the study did not address associations with continued smoking, the researchers suggested that identifying and addressing smoking habits may play a crucial role in improving outcomes for patients with melanoma.