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Objectives: Melanoma is one of the most common malignancies diagnosed during pregnancy. This study examined the impact of pregnancy on management decisions of melanoma patients treated at NYU Langone Health (NYULH). Methods: We analyzed data for patients who were pregnant at initial or recurrent melanoma diagnosis at NYULH from 2012 to 2019 with prospective protocol-driven follow-up. Results: Of the 900 female patients accrued during this period, 11 women in the childbearing range were pregnant at melanoma diagnosis. Six patients presented with early (stage 0 or I) disease and five with advanced (stage III or IV) melanoma. Women with early stage disease had normal deliveries and minimal changes to their treatment timeline and regimen. However, patients with more advanced stage disease opted for either termination of the pregnancy or early delivery and altered treatment timelines because of pregnancy. Conclusion: Both melanoma stage and gestational age at diagnosis contribute to the differences in the therapeutic management of melanoma in pregnant women. Given the complexity and variety of each case of melanoma during pregnancy, informed discussion between patients and physicians allows for individualized treatment plans that address each patient's unique situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The impact of ethnicity and the socioeconomic status (SES) among Caucasians is not well studied. Here, we examine the impact of income on melanoma presentation and prognosis within a Caucasian cohort, accounting for ethnicity, as some reports suggest increased melanoma incidence in Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) BRCA mutation carriers. Methods: We studied prospectively enrolled primary melanoma patients at New York University. SES data were estimated using United States' Census Bureau data and patient zip codes. We evaluated associations between ethnicity, SES, and baseline characteristics using the χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression. We compared survival distributions using Kaplan-Meier curves, log-rank tests, and Cox proportional hazard ratios. Results: Of the 1,339 enrolled patients, AJ represented 32% (n = 423). Apart from AJ being older at presentation (p < 0.001), no significant differences were observed in baseline characteristics between ethnic groups. Patients with a median household income (MHI) lower than the median of the cohort were significantly more likely to present with advanced stages (p < 0.001) compared to patients with a higher MHI. Shorter overall (p = 0.016) and post-recurrence survival (p = 0.042) was also observed in patients from lower-income households. Conclusion: Data suggest that disparities in melanoma presentation in Caucasians stratify according to income independent of ethnic background. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]