PROGNOSIS OF THIN CUTANEOUS HEAD AND NECK MELANOMA (LESS-THAN-1 MM)

Thin malignant melanomas, i.e. tumours less than 1 mm, are generally c onsidered to have a good prognosis, The records of 148 patients with t hin invasive melanomas located to the head and neck region mere review ed, All patients were followed from the excision of the primary tumour until death, or the closing date of this study (31 December 1989), Fo llow-up was median 9.6 years, (range: 3 months to 26.5 years), Increas ing tumour thickness led to an increasing number of recurrences, Howev er, there was no statistically significant difference in the length of recurrence-free survival or total survival between patients with tumo urs less than 0.76 mm and patients with tumours measuring between 0.76 mm and 0.99 mm (P>0.08), Tumours located in the scalp, neck and ears did relapse more often than tumours located to the face (P<0.03), No d ifference in prognosis was found in tumours that mere excised with a f ree margin of <2.0 cm or of greater than or equal to 2.0 cm (P>0.29), Sixteen of the patients (11%) developed recurrences, 12 of these 16 pa tients (75%) died of disseminated melanoma. We conclude that thin head and neck malanomas do not necessarily carry an excellent prognosis, P rognosis is not dependent upon tumour thickness when less than 1.00 mm .