RESULTS OF TREATMENT OF 361 PATIENTS WITH MALIGNANT MELANOMA IN QUEENSLAND

Abstract

Three hundred and sixty-one patients treated for malignant melanoma in Queensland in 1963 and 1964 have been followed up. Melanoma was most commonly seen in patients in the middle decades of life. The commonest site of the primary lesion was on the trunk in males, and on the extremities, especially the leg below the knee, in females. There was clinical evidence of spread of the disease beyond the primary site when the patient was first treated in 14·7% of all the patients, but in only 10% of the 342 patients who had an identifiable primary lesion. One-quarter of the lesions showed only a superficial level of invasion, and the remaining three-quarters were invading into the dermis or beyond. The observed five-year rate for all causes of death was 45% for males and 19·3% for females. The prognosis was good for younger females; for patients with lesions which were not invading the reticular dermis; and for patients who had a primary lesion of an extremity, especially the arm.