Malignant melanoma of the vulva. Australian experience

Malignant melanoma is an uncommon but aggressive tumor, and the vulva seems to have an increased predisposition for developing it. Vulvar melanoma appears to behave similarly to truncal melanoma, but its later presentation, due to its less accessible and less visible site, gives the false impression of more aggressive behavior. In spite of that the survival, stage by stage, is not markedly different from that of truncal melanoma. Traditionally it has been treated in the same manner as vulvar squamous cell carcinoma, with extreme but often therapeutically inadequate radical surgery. For lesions less than 0.75 mm in depth, wide excision with a 2-cm margin is adequate. Deeper lesions require radical local excision and bilateral groin lymphadenectomy through separate incisions.