RETROSPECTIVE HISTOLOGICAL STUDY OF 669 CASES OF PRIMARY CUTANEOUS MALIGNANT-MELANOMA IN CLINICAL STAGE-I .3. RELATION BETWEEN TUMOR-ASSOCIATED LYMPHOCYTE INFILTRATION AND AGE AND SEX, TUMOR-CELL TYPE, PIGMENTATION, CELLULAR ATYPIA, MITOTIC COUNT, DEPTH OF INVASION, ULCERATION, TUMOR TYPE AND PROGNOSIS

  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 86  (6) , 523-530
Abstract
A selected series of 669 primary malignant melanoma of the skin, stage I, was studied. The series included 86 lentigo maligna melanomas, 259 superficial spreading malignant melanomas, 194 nodular malignant melanomas and 130 unclassifiable malignant melanomas. The adjacent lymphocyte infiltration was graded and its prognostic value and its relation to the sex and age of the patient, tumor cell type, pigmentation, cellular atypia, mitotic count, depth of dermal invasion, tumor type and ulceration were studied. There was no significant relationship between lymphocyte response and sex and age of the patient and the tumor cell type. There was a highly significant relationship between a dense lymphocyte infiltration and superficial tumor invasion as far as the papillary-reticular interface in contrast to the weak response associated with deeper invasion. When only tumors with invasion of the papillary-reticular interface were considered there was no significant relationship between lymphocyte infiltration and pigmentation, cellular atypia, mitotic count, tumor type and ulceration. At the same level of invasion there was no difference in prognosis in relation to the density of lymphocyte infiltration. Nodular malignant melanomas surrounded by a dense lymphocyte infiltration had a significantly worse prognosis than was assoicated with a similar lymphocyte response against the 2 other types of melanoma.