Cutaneous melanoma of the head and neck

We have reviewed a 21-year experience with 289 patients who received definitive surgical treatment for cutaneous melanomas arising in the skin of the head and neck. Elective lymphadenectomy was performed in 39 percent of those who presented with no clinical evidence of nodal metastasis. The cumulative 5- and 10-year survival was 56 percent and 45 percent, respectively. Increased tumor thickness, age greater than 55 years, male sex, ulceration, nodular morphology, and scalp site were significant adverse factors. Patients with ear or neck lesions had the best survival. The risk of distant metastasis was almost equivalent to that of nodal metastasis, regardless of thickness. Elective lymphadenectomy appeared to have minimal impact on survival.