[Melanoma and atopy].

331 melanoma patients (206 females; 125 males) and 380 control subjects (205 females; 175 males) were questioned about symptoms of atopy (eczema, allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma). Among the melanoma patients there were 14 (10 females, 4 males; 4.2%) with atopy, while in the control group there were 38 (23 females, 15 males; 10%). The influence of age, sex, socio-economic status and other risk factors for melanoma were analysed with the Mantel-Haenszell test, which indicated that melanoma patients had fewer atopic symptoms than subjects in the control group (p less than 0.05). The role of fever may be an explanation of this finding. Among melanoma patients there were fewer feverish infections, while patients with atopy had more feverish complications of their symptoms.