[Prognosis in primary malignant melanoma based on histological assessment (a comparative study between two groups with different length of survival)].

In this retrospective study, sixty patients with primary malignant melanoma running a highly variable course (long- and short-term survivors) were reviewed histologically. In contrast to reports by other workers, a constant histological reaction pattern was selected, whereas the host reaction was the variable factor studied. In the majority of long-term survivors the tumour was surrounded by a dense lympho-histiocytic infiltrate, which was minimal or even absent in patients with a short-term survival rate. In the patients with long-term survival the peritumour connective tissue was definitely increased, whereas in the group in which the disease ran a short course there was destruction of peritumour connective tissue. The importance of these findings as an additional parameter for histological prognosis is discussed.