Melanoma clinical characteristics, treatment patterns and HCRU study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A retrospective observational study of patient characteristics, treatment patterns and healthcare resource utilisation for stage II melanoma in England
IRAS ID
322190
Contact name
Amisha Patel
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Merck Sharp & Dohme (UK) LTD
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 7 months, 24 days
Research summary
Melanoma is one of the three major types of skin cancer and remains the deadliest, causing 75% of skin cancer deaths, even though it accounts for 5% of skin cancer cases. The rates of melanoma have been rising over the past few decades and is the fifth most common cancer in the United Kingdom. Early identification of melanoma is crucial for successful treatment as patients diagnosed and treated at earlier stages are more likely to survive and experience fewer recurrences of the disease. For example, 32-46% of patients with melanoma only in the skin which has not spread to the lymph nodes or other parts of the body (stage II) are estimated to have a recurrence of the disease following surgery to remove the cancerous cells compared with 39-74% of patients who were diagnosed at a more advanced stage (stage III). Although there have been several studies relating to the improvement of melanoma treatment and management, there is a key data gap in England for patients with stage II melanoma. A comprehensive examination of the real-world patient pathway (all stages of care a patient experiences from pre-diagnosis to follow-up treatment), treatments and outcomes of stage II melanoma patients is therefore required. This study will therefore evaluate how patients in England are being treated for stage II melanoma, their outcomes, and healthcare resources used and associated costs related to this, to understand which patients may benefit from improvements in treatment.
REC name
London - Brighton & Sussex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/PR/1508
Date of REC Opinion
17 Nov 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion