Surgical margins and prognostic factors in patients with thick (>4 mm) primary melanoma

Background: Randomized trials have demonstrated the efficacy of 1- and 2-cm excision margins for thin and intermediate-thickness melanomas, respectively. The optimal margin of excision for thick melanomas is still unknown, however. We evaluated whether the margins used for intermediate-thickness melanomas can be applied safely to thicker lesions.Methods: The charts of 278 patients with thick primary melanomas treated between 1985 and 1996 were …