Incidence, Prevalence and Clinical Characteristic of Patients with Unresectable/Metastatic Melanoma in Colombia: A Real World Study

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to measure the incidence, prevalence and clinical characteristics of Colombian patients with unresectable/metastatic melanoma

METHODS: A non-interventional, descriptive, retrospective, longitudinal cohort study without sites was conducted to identify patients with the diagnosis of unresectable (Stage III) and metastatic (Stage IV) melanoma in the Colombian population using electronic health records and pharmacy claims databases of a Health Management Organization (HMO). The incidence and prevalence of events was estimated using the number of diagnosed cases by the number of affiliates in the HMO over the study period. This estimation is broken by gender, age, and the different comorbidities previously diagnosed in the medical records. The period of study ranged from 01 January 2015 to 31 December 2022.

RESULTS: One hundred fifty-six patients with the diagnosis of unresectable and metastatic melanoma were included. The mean age of patients was 56.75 (Standard deviation (SD) 16.40). They were mainly male (53.8%). The main localization of melanoma was trunk and upper limb (34.21%), however, the 42,10% reported missing information. The mean of charlson score was 7.7 (3.9). The 58,33% of patients had metastasis in other sites. The incidence and frequency of unresectable/metastatic melanoma have been increased since years of study. In 2022, the prevalence was 2.52 cases per 100.000 persons (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.06-3.06) and incidence was 0.91 cases per 100.000 persons (95% CI 0.64-1.25). They were higher in men than women and increases with age. The prevalence and incidence in 2022 patients between older than 55 years were 4.74 cases (95% CI 3.51 – 6.25) and 2.18 cases (95% CI 1.38 – 3.27) per 100.000 persons, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence and incidence of unresectable/metastatic melanoma have increased with the years in Colombia. It is more frequent in old adults and men being trunk and upper limb the sites most observed.