The Danish Melanoma Database

Figures & data

Table 1 Main variables included in the DMD

Category	Variable
Demographic data	Sex
	Age at diagnosis
	Familial melanoma
	Presence of dysplastic/atypical nevi
Clinical tumor data	Location of tumor (53 different locations)
	Largest diameter of tumor
	Specific clinical tumor characteristics
Primary diagnosis	Type and date of biopsy
Definitive surgery	Date of surgery
	Excision margin
	Method for closure of defect
	± Sentinel node biopsy
Pathology data on the primary tumor	Melanoma type
	Specific pathological tumor characteristics, including presence of ulceration and mitoses
	Tumor thickness in mm (two decimals) and Clark’s level
	± Satellites
	± Free resection margins
	Uncertain whether malignant or benign tumor
	Insufficient material for diagnosis
TNM classification
Data from lymphoscintigraphy	Date of examination, technique, information on tracer, result
Data from sentinel node biopsy	Date of surgery, ± use of patent blue, activity and stain in removed nodes, remaining activity in region
Recurrence	Were metastases detected at the time of primary diagnosis with a known primary tumor?
	Location of recurrence
Treatment of recurrence	Date and nature of operation
	Results of lymph node dissection (number of nodes with metastases and number of nodes removed)
	Referral to oncological treatment
Follow-up information	Date and status at the time of follow-up (± sign of recurrence)
	In case of recurrence, who/how suspected/detected
	Information about future plan for follow-up
Off-study information	Date of last visit
	Date and cause of death if known
	± Autopsy performed

Abbreviations: DMD, Danish Melanoma Database; TNM, tumor–node–metastasis.

Figure 1 Regional performance regarding indicator 3 (excisional margins according to guidelines).

Notes: The blue dots present the result for each region and Denmark as a whole (with 95% confidence limits) for quality indicator 3: the fraction of tumors where excisional margins are performed according to the guidelines. The vertical dotted line shows the standard set as an aim of acceptance for the indicator by the DMD steering committee. Data from Dansk Melanom Database.⁴
Abbreviation: DMD, Danish Melanoma Database.

Figure 2 Age-standardized incidence rates from the DMD (full lines) compared with age-standardized incidence rates from the NORDCAN^a (dotted lines).

Notes: ^aNORDCAN is a collaboration of the cancer registries in the Nordic countries. Data, which can be accessed online in an open version, are derived from the national cancer registries and slightly modified to be comparable. Data from Engholm et al.¹⁷
Abbreviations: DMD, the Danish Melanoma Database; py, per year; DMG, Danish Melanoma Group.

Table 2 Current key indicators for the DMD

Indicator number	Proportion with required information about	Aim
1	TNM stage	>90%
2	Excisional margin for treatment of primary tumor	>95%
3	If total excisional margin was performed according to guidelines	>90%
4	If sentinel lymph node biopsy was performed in tumors ≥T1b	>85%
5	Breslow’s tumor thickness	>97%
6	Ulceration of the tumor (±)	>97%
7	Dermal mitoses (±)	>97%
8	Size and location of metastases within metastatic sentinel lymph nodes	>97%
9	Metastases (±) in sentinel lymph nodes	>97%
10	At least ten lymph nodes removed at axillary dissection (including previous sentinel nodes)	>90%

Abbreviations: DMD, the Danish Melanoma Database; TNM, tumor–node–metastasis.

Dansk Melanom Database [webpage on the Internet]National Årsrapport2014 Available from: https://www.sundhed.dk/content/cms/30/57130_%C3%A5rsrapport_melanomer_2014_endelig.pdfAccessed July 29, 2015

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EngholmGFerlayJChristensenNhomepage on the InternetNORDCAN: Cancer Incidence, Mortality, Prevalence and Survival in the Nordic Countries, Version 7.2 (16.12.2015)Association of the Nordic Cancer Registries. Danish Cancer Society Available from: http://www.ancr.nuAccessed February 2, 2016

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