Patients With Obesity More Likely to Be Diagnosed With Earlier-Stage Melanoma
Individuals with obesity and serious comorbidities significantly more likely to have earlier T-stage at diagnosis
By Dermsquared Editorial Team | August 20, 2025
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 13, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with obesity, especially those with serious comorbidities, are more likely to be diagnosed with earlier-stage invasive melanoma, according to a research letter published online July 22 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Hansa Sharma, B.N., from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and colleagues examined the relationship between obesity and tumor stage (T-stage) at diagnosis and recurrence in patients with high-risk primary melanoma. Seven hundred patients were recruited from health facilities in Queensland from 2010 to 2014; 646 participants had valid body mass index measurements.
The researchers found that compared with healthy-weight individuals, patients with obesity were significantly more likely to have an earlier T-stage at diagnosis (odds ratio, 1.93). In a subgroup analysis, participants with obesity and serious comorbidities were significantly more likely to have an earlier T-stage at diagnosis compared with their healthy-weight counterparts (odds ratio, 2.99). At seven years after primary diagnosis, there was no association seen between body mass index and melanoma recurrence.
"We have demonstrated that obese patients, especially those with serious comorbidities, are more likely to be diagnosed with earlier-stage invasive melanoma compared to their healthy-weight counterparts," the authors write. "This may be explained by more frequent physician visits allowing for opportunistic lesion detection."