[Growth dynamics and histogenesis of malignant melanomas based on anamnestic data]

Anamnestic data of 668 patients suffering from malignant melanoma were statistically evaluated. More than half of the patients had noticed a "mole" at the site where the melanoma was subsequently found. More than a third of the patients guessed that this mole had always been there, and an additional 15% were of the opinion that the mole had been present since childhood. About a third of the patients stated that the lesion had existed for more than 20 years. About 45% of them had been aware of it for between one and 20 years. Only 21.5% had not noticed any pigmented spot until less than one year before the diagnosis of melanoma. From the data, we conclude that in about 35% of the cases the pigmented area had first been noticed before puberty; in 49% of the cases, the lesion had not been observed until the patient's 36th year of age. Once the patients became aware of the growing development of the mole, 62% of them sought medical advice within one year. The other patients waited longer, 8.7% of them even more than 5 years, before having it removed. In the majority of the cases, the patients' attention was drawn to the malignant growth by changes in size and thickness. In 40% of the cases, changes in color were noted. The "classic" signs of alarm such as itching and bleeding were reported in 29.2% and 34.9% of the cases, respectively.