TY  -  JOUR
AU  -  Di Nuovo, Franca
AU  -  Nicola, Marta
AU  -  Valeri, Barbara
AU  -  Cossa, Mara
AU  -  Mattavelli, Ilaria
AU  -  Franceschi, Pietro
AU  -  Renda, Anna
AU  -  Onorati, Monica
T1  -  Incidence and outcomes in cutaneous melanoma: focus on gender and sex differences
PY  -  2023
Y1  -  2023-05-01
DO  -  10.1723/4078.40636
JO  -  Journal of Sex- and Gender-Specific Medicine
JA  -  J Sex Gender Specif Med
VL  -  9
IS  -  2
SP  -  63
EP  -  68
PB  -  Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore
SN  -  2974-8623
Y2  -  2026/05/16
UR  -  http://dx.doi.org/10.1723/4078.40636
N2  -  
Summary. Introduction. Cutaneous melanoma is the most worrisome and deadliest type of skin malignancies. It has become a public health problem worldwide because its incidence is rising dramatically in both females and males and is rapidly increasing due to continuous sun exposure especially in young people. Methods. We report new gender and sex evidences from a broad retrospective study regarding 3,291 patients affected by cutaneous melanoma. Data were collected at National Cancer Institute (Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori) of Milan, one of the most specialized reference centers for melanoma treatment in Italy. In particular, we focused on comparing gender and biological sex differences in histological prognostic factors of cutaneous melanoma such as Clark level, regression, vertical growth, Breslow’s thickness, histotype, ulceration, vascular and perineural invasion, presence or absence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and the anatomical sites of onset. Results. The R statistical analysis confirmed the existence of gender and sex differences between melanomas arising in men compared to those arising in women, mainly concerning Breslow’s thickness, Clark level, regression and anatomical site of onset. These results have been achieved throughout and due to the wide number of analyzed patients. Discussion. In this research the terms sex and gender have not been used as synonyms. In fact, the former refers to biological sex and the latter is related to lifestyle, socioeconomic condition, ethnicity, psychological factors and so on. Insofar there are several papers about the relationships between biological sex and melanoma, but very few concerning the gender influence. In this regard our research highlights new gender and sex-related evidences in the onset of cutaneous melanoma. We believe that in the future the statistical analysis and algorithm comparing the melanoma prognostic factors could predict “backwards” the sex of the melanoma patients. Finally, it should be stressed that it is of paramount importance to reiterate that further researches containing gender and sex differences are crucial to increasing the survival rate of melanoma patients.

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