VisioMel database: predicting cutaneous melanoma relapse

About this dataset

## 1. Purpose of the database: Melanoma is a cancer arising from melanocytes—the pigment-producing cells located primarily in the skin, but also, less commonly, in mucosal membranes. While most cases occur in the skin, mucosal melanomas represent a rarer but clinically significant subset. The pathogenesis of cutaneous melanoma is multifactorial, involving a combination of environmental factors — particularly ultraviolet (UV) radiation — host-related characteristics, such as the presence of atypical nevi, a high total nevus count, and skin phototype, as well as inherited genetic susceptibility. Although they represent only about 10% of all skin cancers, cutaneous melanoma are among the most aggressive forms of skin cancers, primarily due to their high metastatic potential, which critically worsens the prognosis. Metastatic dissemination occurs when malignant cells from the primary tumor invade surrounding tissues and establish secondary lesions in regional lymph nodes (referred to as loco-regional melanoma) or distant organs (distant metastases). Metastases are infrequently present at the time of initial diagnosis and generally emerge during disease monitoring or follow-up. Diagnosis of melanoma involves microscopic analysis of tumor tissue by a pathologist. By examining a stained histological slide, the pathologist confirms the disease diagnosis and assesses lesion severity based on prognostic factors such as the tumor thickness or the presence of ulceration. Combining this analysis with clinical prognostic factors (such as age, sex, and medical history) enables dermatologists to adapt treatment to the disease's severity. Patient survival in melanoma is highly dependent on the stage at diagnosis. In cases of primary cutaneous melanoma without metastatic spread, prognosis is strongly associated with tumor thickness. For example, early-stage melanomas measuring less than 1 mm in thickness have a 5-year survival rate exceeding 95%. In contrast, melanomas thicker than 4 mm are associated with a relapse risk of approximately 70 to 80% within five years, indicating a substantial risk of disease recurrence after initial treatment. In patients presenting with metastatic melanoma at diagnosis or experiencing relapse, treatment options may include surgical interventions — such as lymph node dissection or metastasectomy — as well as systemic therapies, including immunotherapy and targeted therapies. Although thin melanomas ( =4\ Unit: millimeters. * Ulceration of the epidermis (total loss of epidermal tissue): the presence of ulceration is often associated with a poor prognosis. Indeed, ulcerated tumors tend to be more aggressive and present an increased risk of local or metastatic recurrence.\ Type: string.\ Categories: YES ; NO. * Age (age\_at\_initial\_diagnosis): patient’s age may play a role in predicting relapse. Younger patients may sometimes have a slightly higher risk of relapse.\ Type: string.\ Categories: 80\ Unit: year. * Sex: patient’s sex can influence the risk of relapse, although the impact may vary.\ Type: string.\ Categories: 1 ; 2 with 1 corresponding to male and 2 to female. * Tumor Location (melanoma\_body\_site): some anatomical sites may be more prone to relapse than others.\ Type: string.\ Categories: head/neck ; lower/upper limb ; trunk/pelvis. * Histological type of tumor: histological type influences the growth, clinical behavior, aggressiveness, and prognosis of melanomas.\ Type: string.\ Categories: ALM ; LMN/MLM ; NM ; SSM ; other/unclassified. * Family history of melanoma (melanoma\_history): individuals with a family history of melanoma have an increased risk of developing the disease themselves.\ Type: string.\ Categories: YES ; NO with YES corresponding to the presence of family history of melanoma and NO corresponding to the absence of family history of melanoma. * Genetic Factors (BRAF\_mutation): certain genetic mutations, such as those involved in the BRAF gene, have been linked to the risk of me