Dessinioti and coauthors¹ present a retrospective study undertaken in Greece reporting the clinical outcomes for 401 people diagnosed and treated for melanoma in situ from 1991 to 2023 at a major melanoma referral center in Athens (non–lentigo maligna and nonacral lentiginous melanomas; median [range] follow-up, 5 [1-26] years). In line with clinical guideline recommendations, most patients had 2 procedures with a wide local excision (WLE) performed after the initial excisional biopsy (372 of 403 lesions [92%]). In 23 of these cases, the margins were narrow (less than 0.5 cm) after the WLE but a third surgery was not performed. In the remaining 31 lesions, no WLE was performed. The sole patient with a positive margin of melanoma in situ on the excision biopsy recurred with invasive melanoma stage pT1 (American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging Manual, eighth edition) at the site of excision 14 months later. There were no melanoma deaths among the 401 patients.

Source:

Bell KJL, Soyer HP, Ferguson PM. Is Wide Local Excision After Primary Excision of Melanoma In Situ Unnecessary? JAMA Dermatol. Published online September 03, 2025. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2025.3077

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/2838222