• Keegan THM, Abrahão R, Alvarez EM. Survival trends among adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer in the United States: comparisons with children and older adults. J Clin Oncol. 2024;42:630–41. This study evaluated nationwide data regarding cancer survival and found substantial improvements in survival since 2000 among AYAs diagnosed with metastatic melanoma.

Siegel RL, Giaquinto AN, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2024. CA Cancer J Clin. 2024;74:12–49.

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Paulson KG, Gupta D, Kim TS, et al. Age-specific incidence of melanoma in the United States. JAMA Dermatol. 2020;156:57–64.

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

• Borad BS, Deianni E, Penã K, Burjonrappa S. Pediatric melanoma: geographic trends in incidence, stage, and mortality in the United States. J Surg Res. 2023;290:215–20. This study evaluated nationwide data regarding pediatric melanoma incidence and assessed regional differences in incidence, which seemed to correlate with UV index, at least for stage III-IV cases.

Averbook BJ, Lee SJ, Delman KA, et al. Pediatric melanoma: analysis of an international registry. Cancer. 2013;119:4012–9.

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Han D, Zager JS, Han G, et al. The unique clinical characteristics of melanoma diagnosed in children. Ann Surg Oncol. 2012;19:3888–95.

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Hawryluk EB, Moustafa D, Bartenstein D, et al. A retrospective multicenter study of fatal pediatric melanoma. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2020;83:1274–81.

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

• Yousif R, Boull C, Gerami P, Nardone B, Vivar KL, Liszewski W. The demographics and trends in pediatric melanoma in the United States: an analysis of the National Cancer Database. Pediatr Dermatol. 2021;7:2–49. This study evaluated nationwide data regarding pediatric melanoma and found a decreasing trend in new cases, in contrast to some other studies.

Carrera C, Scope A, Dusza SW, et al. Clinical and dermoscopic characterization of pediatric and adolescent melanomas: multicenter study of 52 cases. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2018;78:278–88.

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Cordoro KM, Gupta D, Frieden IJ, McCalmont T, Kashani-Sabet M. Pediatric melanoma: results of a large cohort study and proposal for modified ABCD detection criteria for children. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2013;68:913–25.

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Danysh HE, Navai SA, Scheurer ME, Hunt R, Venkatramani R. Malignant melanoma incidence among children and adolescents in Texas and SEER 13, 1995–2013. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2019;66:e27648.

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

• Hagstrom M, Dhillon S, Fumero-Velázquez M, Olivares S, Gerami P. A reappraisal of the epidemiology of Spitz neoplasms in the molecular era: a retrospective cohort study. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2023;89:1185–91. This study evaluated Spitz neoplasm epidemiology and found that these lesions are predominantly but not exclusively found in young patients – children and young adults under age 40.

• Hawryluk EB, Moustafa D, Barry KK, et al. Risk factors and outcomes of melanoma in children and adolescents: a retrospective multicenter study. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2024;90:716–26. This study evaluated nationwide data regarding outcomes in pediatric melanoma, and documented a 46% incidence of positive nodes among children and adolescents undergoing sentinel lymph node biopsy, and cases with positive sentinel nodes were significantly more likely to metastasize (77%) than those with negative sentinel nodes (23%) and had significantly lower survival rates.

• Fernandez JM, Koblinski JE, Dahak S, Curiel-Lewandrowski C, Thiede R. Gender differences in pediatric and adolescent melanoma: a retrospective analysis of 4645 cases. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2024;90:280–7. This study evaluated nationwide data regarding gender differences in pediatric melanoma and found that, after adjusting for confounders, male gender independently increased mortality risk.

•• Pampena R, Piccolo V, Muscianese M, et al. Melanoma in children: a systematic review and individual patient meta-analysis. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2023;37:1758–76. This metaanalysis and systematic literature review offers a comprehensive view of pediatric melanoma, including the rare presentations like transplacental transmission.

Gangi A, Saw R, Sondak VK. “Hormones and pregnancy in melanoma.” In Balch CM, Thompson J, Gershenwald JE, et al (editors): Cutaneous Melanoma, 6th edition. Springer Nature, Switzerland AG, 2020; pp. 983–996.

Masoomian B, Dalvin LA, Riazi-Esfahani H, et al. Pediatric ocular melanoma: a collaborative multicenter study and meta-analysis. J AAPOS. 2023;27:316–24.

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Bartenstein DW, Fisher JM, Stamoulis C, et al. Clinical features and outcomes of spitzoid proliferations in children and adolescents. Br J Dermatol. 2019;181:366–72.

Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Gerami P, Busam K, Cochran A, et al. Histomorphologic assessment and interobserver diagnostic reproducibility of atypical spitzoid melanocytic neoplasms with long-term follow-up. Am J Surg Pathol. 2014;38:934–40.

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Bahrami A, Barnhill RL. Pathology and genomics of pediatric melanoma: a critical reexamination and new insights. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2018;65:e26792.

•• Pappo PAS, McPherson V, Pan H, et al. A prospective comprehensive registry that integrates molecular analysis of pediatric melanocytic lesions. Cancer. 2021;127:3825–31. This registry study involved a comprehensive evaluation of clinical and molecular data in different categories of pediatric melanocytic lesions in 70 patients, including melanomas arising in congenital nevi, atypical Spitz tumors, and conventional melanomas.

• Herzum HA, Occella C, Vellone VG, et al. Paediatric Spitzoid neoplasms: 10-year retrospective study characterizing histological, clinical, dermoscopic presentation and FISH test results. Diagnostics. 2023;13:2380. This single-institution study evaluated Spitzoid neoplasms in pediatric patients; they found that 82% were classified as benign Spitz nevi, 17% as atypical Spitz tumors and only 1% as Spitz melanoma.

• Yeh I, Busam KJ. Spitz melanocytic tumours - a review. Histopathology. 2022;80:122–34. This review of Spitz tumors discusses available information regarding differentiation between Spitz melanocytoma and atypical Spitz tumor or Spitz melanoma.

•• Hagstrom M, Fumero-Velázquez M, Dhillon S, Olivares S, Gerami P. An update on genomic aberrations in Spitz naevi and tumours. Pathology. 2023;55:196–205. This review of Spitz-lineage neoplasms discusses various methods of identifying Spitz associated genomic fusions to help provide more definitive classification, and also discusses characteristic features of the various fusion subtypes as well as prognostic biomarkers.

Sondak VK, Messina JL. What’s new in pediatric melanoma and Spitz tumors? Pretty much everything. Cancer. 2021;127:3720–3.

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Koh SS, Lau SK, Scapa JV, Cassarino DS. PRAME immunohistochemistry of spitzoid neoplasms. J Cutan Pathol. 2022;49:709–16.

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Gerami P, Scolyer RA, Xu X, et al. Risk assessment for atypical spitzoid melanocytic neoplasms using FISH to identify chromosomal copy number aberrations. Am J Surg Pathol. 2013;37:676–84.

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Reed D, Kudchadkar R, Zager JS, Sondak VK, Messina JL. Controversies in the evaluation and management of atypical melanocytic proliferations in children, adolescents and young adults. J Natl Compr Cancer Netw. 2013;11:679–86.

Article  Google Scholar 

Sondak VK, Reed D, Messina JL. A comprehensive approach to pediatric atypical melanocytic neoplasms, with comment on the role of sentinel lymph node biopsy. Crit Rev Oncog. 2016;21:25–36.

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Hieken TJ, Egger ME, Angeles CV, et al. A prospective registry study of a primary melanoma gene-signature to predict sentinel node (SN) status and determine its prognostic value for more accurate staging of patients with SN-negative melanoma patients. Cancer Res. 2023;83(supp 8):abstr CT053.

Article  Google Scholar 

Bouffet E, Hansford JR, Garrè ML, et al. Dabrafenib plus trametinib in pediatric glioma with BRAF V600 mutations. N Engl J Med. 2023;389:1108–20.

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Luke JJ, Rutkowski P, Queirolo P, et al. Pembrolizumab versus placebo as adjuvant therapy in completely resected stage IIB or IIC melanoma (KEYNOTE-716): a randomised, double-blind, phase 3 trial. Lancet. 2022;399:1718–29.

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Patel SP, Othus M, Chen Y, et al. Neoadjuvant-adjuvant or adjuvant-only pembrolizumab in advanced melanoma. N Engl J Med. 2023;388:813–23.

Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Reijers ILM, Menzies AM, van Akkooi ACJ, et al. Personalized response-directed surgery and adjuvant therapy after neoadjuvant ipilimumab and nivolumab in high-risk stage III melanoma: the PRADO trial. Nat Med. 2022;28:1178–88.

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Sondak VK, Atkins MB, Messersmith H, Provenzano A, Seth R, Agarwala SS. Systemic therapy for melanoma: ASCO Guideline update and Q and A. JCO Oncol Pract. 2024;20:173–7.

• Geoerger B, Kang HJ, Yalon-Oren M, et al. Pembrolizumab in paediatric patients with advanced melanoma or a PD-L1-positive, advanced, relapsed, or refractory solid tumour or lymphoma (KEYNOTE-051): interim analysis of an open-label, single-arm, phase 1–2 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2020;21:121–33. This prospective phase 1-2 trial involved 154 patients under 18 who received at least one dose of pembrolizumab, including 8 with metastatic melanoma, making it one of the largest series of immunotherapy treatment for pediatric patients.