Melanoma in the South-East of Scotland: A Review

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Abstract
A review was carried out of 129 patients with extraocular melanoma of the skin who were treated at Bangour General Hospital during the period 1968 to 1978 in order to compare our findings with those of earlier studies in the United Kingdom. The clinical features of our series were very similar to those of earlier studies but the impression is that the incidence since the war has been rising. This was confirmed with a sub-group of our patients in which the incidence in West Lothian increased by 52 per cent from the first to the second five-year period; this was statistically significant. One disturbing fact was that only 25 per cent of patients presented for treatment in less than six months from the onset of symptoms, suggesting that the potential danger of a pigmented lesion is not appreciated by the public. A health education programme is long overdue.