Malignant melanoma in childhood and adolescence.

A retrospective chart review of 25 patients under the age of 20 years with malignant melanoma, diagnosed between the years 1938 and 1984 at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, was conducted. Nine of the patients were under the age of 14 years, and 18 patients were females. There appeared to be a frequent delay in diagnosis of the primary lesion, occasionally incorrect initial diagnosis, and under-treatment in these young patients. Primary treatment varied from limited excision of the lesion to wide excision and regional lymph node dissection. Females appeared to have a better prognosis than males, and wide local excision with or without regional lymph node dissection was associated with the most favorable outcome. Overall 10-year survival in this group of patients was 56 per cent, a rate that compares well to the overall survival in adult patients with malignant melanoma.