Clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of melanoma: A retrospective cohort study in Xinjiang, China

The incidence of melanoma is substantially lower in Asians than in Caucasians. This study retrospectively analyzed 355 patients in Xinjiang, China, to delineate the clinicopathological features and prognosis of melanoma in this region. The median overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were 78.0 and 46.0 months with 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS/DFS rates of 83.3%/68.3%/57.0% and 80.4%/59.5%/43.4%, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified advanced AJCC stage and elevated LDH as independent predictors of poorer OS. For DFS, AJCC stage, presence of metastasis, elevated LDH, and aCCI predicted worse outcomes, while adjuvant therapy was protective. Crucially, subtype-specific determinants emerged: aCCI independently predicted OS ( HR = 18.42, P = 0.005) and DFS ( HR = 4.91, P = 0.019) in CM, while higher BMI was associated with poorer DFS in AM ( HR = 3.58, P = 0.019). These findings underscore the need for subtype-aware clinical management in this region.