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Soo Park, MD
Soo Park, MD
Posted: Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Citing a rise in the incidence of cutaneous melanoma in the United States and specific challenges diagnosing and treating the disease in children and adolescents, a multidisciplinary group of specialists with expertise in pediatric melanocytic neoplasms was convened by the Children’s Oncology Group to develop recommendations specific to this patient population. Michael R. Sargen, MD, of the National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland, and colleagues stressed in their guidance document that clinicopathologic and molecular correlation is critical for classifying atypical melanocytic neoplasms in these patients and determining appropriate surgical interventions. The researchers’ extensive recommendations for the diagnostic evaluation and surgical management of cutaneous melanoma, atypical Spitz tumors, and non-Spitz melanocytic tumors (melanocytomas) were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
“In recent years, next-generation sequencing has improved the classification of diagnostically ambiguous melanocytic neoplasms [in pediatric and adolescent patients]. However, there is confusion among practitioners about the variety of available tests and their utility, and how to integrate genomic data into histopathologic diagnosis,” the investigators stated. “This large multidisciplinary effort represents an important step in providing guidance for cutaneous melanoma and challenging melanocytic neoplasms in [this patient] population, with the hope that further prospective studies will inform the field.”
A panel of 33 experts representing cutaneous, medical, and surgical oncology; dermatology; and dermatopathology contributed to the document, basing their recommendations on clinical expertise and data from 87 peer-reviewed publications. The recommendations contained in the document cover biopsy and surgical guidelines, tumor classification, and testing procedures for pediatric and adolescent patients. All recommendations were unanimously agreed upon by the panel.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit ascopubs.org.
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