Tumour stage distribution and survival of malignant melanoma in Germany 2002-2011

Background Over the past two decades, there has been a rising trend in malignant melanoma incidence worldwide. In 2008, Germany introduced a nationwide skin cancer screening program starting at age 35. The aims of this study were to analyse the distribution of malignant melanoma tumour stages over time, as well as demographic and regional differences in stage distribution and survival of melanoma patients. Methods Pooled data from 61 895 malignant melanoma patients diagnosed between 2002 and 2011 and documented in 28 German population-based and hospital-based clinical cancer registries were analysed using descriptive methods, joinpoint regression, logistic regression and relative survival. Results The number of annually documented cases increased by 53.2% between 2002 (N = 4 779) and 2011 (N = 7 320). There was a statistically significant continuous positive trend in the proportion of stage UICC I cases diagnosed between 2002 and 2011, compared to a negative trend for stage UICC II. No trends were found for stages UICC III and IV respectively. Age (OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.97–0.97), sex (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.11–1.25), date of diagnosis (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.04–1.06), ‘diagnosis during screening’ (OR 3.24, 95% CI 2.50–4.19) and place of residence (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.16–1.30) had a statistically significant influence on the tumour stage at diagnosis. The overall 5-year relative survival for invasive cases was 83.4% (95% CI 82.8–83.9%). Conclusions No distinct changes in the distribution of malignant melanoma tumour stages among those aged 35 and older were seen that could be directly attributed to the introduction of skin cancer screening in 2008.

Soil Chemical Insights Provided through Vibrational Spectroscopy

Vibrational spectroscopy techniques provide a powerful approach to the study of environmental materials and processes. These multifunctional analytical tools can be used to probe molecular vibrations of solid, liquid, and gaseous samples for characterizing materials, elucidating reaction mechanisms, and examining kinetic processes. Although Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is the most prominent type of vibrational spectroscopy used in the field of soil science, applications of Raman spectroscopy to study environmental samples continue to increase. The ability of FTIR and Raman spectroscopies to provide complementary information for organic and inorganic materials makes them ideal approaches for soil science research. In addition, the ability to conduct in situ, real time, vibrational spectroscopy experiments to probe biogeochemical processes at mineral interfaces offers unique and versatile methodologies for revealing a myriad of soil chemical phenomena. This review provides a comprehensive overview of vibrational spectroscopy techniques and highlights many of the applications of their use in soil chemistry research

Additional file 4: Table S3. of Tumour stage distribution and survival of malignant melanoma in Germany 2002–2011

Relative 5-year survival of malignant melanoma patients diagnosed between 2002 and 2011, overall (UICC 0-IV, X) (N = 60 672) and for patients with invasive tumours (UICC I – IV, X) stratified by age, sex, UICC stage, ‘diagnosis during screening’ and place of residence (N = 49 351) (DOCX 39 kb

Additional file 3: Table S2. of Tumour stage distribution and survival of malignant melanoma in Germany 2002–2011

Malignant melanoma patients aged 35 years and above by age at diagnosis, sex, UICC stage, year of diagnosis, place of residence and ‘diagnosis during screening’, N = 34 739 (UICC 0 and X excluded) (DOCX 40 kb