TABLE I.
Comparison of Study Subgroups With and Without Unexpected Findings on Preoperative PET/CT
| Characteristic | Total (n = 32) |
Patients With No Unexpected Findings (n=28) |
Patients With Unexpected Findings (n = 4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (y), median (range) | 61 (39–82) | 62 (39–82) | 56.7 (45–70) |
| Sex, no. of patients | |||
| Male | 23 | 19 | 4 |
| Female | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Stage of melanoma, no. of patients | |||
| IIIC | 24 | 21 | 3 |
| IV | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| Primary melanoma Breslow thickness (mm), median (range)a | 2.7(0.2–19) | 1.7(0.2–5.9) | 8.8(1.8–19) |
| Primary melanoma Clark level, no. of patientsa | |||
| 4 | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| 3 | 11 | 10 | 1 |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Primary melanoma mitotic figures/mm2, median (range)a | 7(1–24) | 7(1–24) | 5(1–12) |
| Primary melanoma vascular invasion present, no. of patients/totala | 3/20 | 2/17 | 1/3 |
| Size of metastasis amended for resection (mm), median (range) | 24 (0–90) | 23 (0–90) | 34 (13–53) |
| Time between the primary melanoma and enrollment in our study (months), median (range) | 38 (1–176) | 40 (1–176) | 31 (3–68) |
| Biochemotherapy before study enrollment, no. of patients/total | 6/32 | 4/28 | 2/4 |
| Time between PET/CT and CECT (months), median (range) | 12 (1–36) | 12 (1–36) | 15 (2–30) |
a
Not all characteristics of primary melanoma were available for all 32 study patients because of unknown primary, mucosal melanoma, or incomplete records of cutaneous primary melanoma excisional biopsy. Median value was calculated according to the available incomplete data.