Tumor thickness according to Breslow

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The Breslow tumor thickness (or Breslow level ) is a histological classification used to assess the stages of a malignant melanoma and the prognosis derived from it . The absolute thickness of the tumor tissue from the stratum granulosum of the epidermis to the deepest still detectable tumor tissue is measured in surgically removed cancer tissue. The tumor thickness is then given in millimeters. In contrast to the Clark level , the Breslow tumor thickness is determined independently of the invasion of different skin layers.

The tumor thickness is divided into five different areas according to the original Breslow system:

  • <0.75 mm
  • 0.76-1.49 mm
  • 1.50-2.49 mm
  • 2.50-3.49 mm
  • > 3.5 mm.

The Breslow level is considered to be the most important prognostic aspect in malignant melanoma. At the lowest level of tumor thickness (<0.75 mm), the five-year survival rate is more than 90 percent.

This classification system is named after the American pathologist Alexander Breslow , who published it in 1970.

literature

  • A. Breslow: Thickness, cross-sectional areas and depth of invasion in the prognosis of cutaneous melanoma . Annals of Surgery (1970) 172 (5): pp. 902–908 PMID 5477666 , PMC 1397358 (free full text)
  • A. Breslow: Tumor thickness, level of invasion and node dissection in stage I cutaneous melanoma . Ann. Surg. (1975) 182 (5): pp. 572-575 PMID 1190862 , PMC 1344040 (free full text)
  • CM Balch et al .: A multifactorial analysis of melanoma: prognostic histopathological features comparing Clark's and Breslow's staging methods . Ann. Surg. (1978) 188 (6): pp. 732–742 PMID 736651 PMC 1397001 (free full text)