[Metastases of skin melanoma from unknown primary site]

Out of 3,822 cases of malignant skin melanoma from an unknown primary site, metastases were registered in 53 (1.4%). The male/female ratio was 3:1. The rates of 3-, 5- and 10-year survival were evaluated versus sex, time to treatment, metastatic site and therapeutic modality. The shortest survival was associated with metastasis into cervical lymph nodes, while the longest one (with an overall 3-year survival rate of 40%)--with involvement of a single lymphatic zone. The latter group should be given a complex treatment including a standard regional lymphadenectomy with adjuvant chemo- and immunotherapy. Such treatment resulted in a 3-year survival in 50% of cases. The overall survival rates in patients with metastasis of malignant skin melanoma with an unknown primary site were 29% at 3 years, 26.5%--at 5 and 23.2% at 10 years.