CLINICAL APPEARANCE AND TREATMENT OF MALIGNANT-MELANOMA OF SKIN

  • 1 January 1977
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 66  (1) , 21-30
Abstract
A report is presented on cases of malignant melanoma of the skin recorded in the Finnish Cancer Registry between 1963 and 1968. The material consisted of 693 cases where the diagnosis of melanoma was confirmed by reclassification of the histological specimens and/or by careful perusal of the hospital records. In females melanoma was most frequent on the lower extremities (43%). One-half of the tumors of males were located on the trunk and 2/3 of these where on the posterior side of the trunk. Most of the tumors were in stage I at the time of diagnosis (males, 75%; females, 80%). The mean duration of symptoms was 4.0 mo. in males and 4.2 mo. in females. In stage I the duration of symptoms was under 4 mo. in 40% of cases and in stage II in 37% of cases, whereas in stage III this figure was 68%. The most common symptoms were increase in size (46%) and bleeding from the tumor (11%). Only 28 patients were treated radically while wide excision was the most common surgical method (48%).