All pathology and laboratory procedures (slide review, sectioning of tumor blocks, macro-dissection, RT-PCR assays, and Recurrence Score calculations) were conducted blinded to the case-control status of patient specimens.
We excluded a 60-day period before death or recurrence in our calculations of adherence to allow for the possibility that patients may stop taking medications as they approached either.
Kaplan-Meier analysis was used for survival analysis, lymph node recurrence-free survival (LNRFS), and distant recurrence-free survival (DRFS) calculations.
Seven patients that were never disease-free were omitted from Cox regressions for recurrence but not from calculations of mortality.
All methods used for measurement of gene expression levels and for the calculation of Recurrence Score and gene group scores were identical to those used in the study conducted by Paik and coworkers [ 12].
3 Proposals for these schedules are based on risk calculations concerning melanoma recurrence and cost effectiveness.
However, the calculation of expected recurrence time is based on the assumption of perfect knowledge of long-term risk, which involves high uncertainty.
aOnly cases with recurrence are included in this calculation.
Consequently, a prognostic score categorization is proposed, which allows a straightforward calculation of the recurrence risk for a given case, to define therapeutic strategies, for counseling of patient and to design future trials.
Unless a geneticist saw them as outpatients, further consultations at genetics clinics and extended analysis of family members may be necessary to provide accurate clinical examinations, genetic counseling, and calculation of the recurrence risk.
