[Malignant melanoma in the child--2 case reports]

Case histories of two infants with malignant melanoma are presented. Both tumors had developed from a congenital mole to advanced disease with lymph node metastasis at time of diagnosis, findings which are commonly correlated with poor outcome. Initially, both patients were surgically treated. From the experience with few described cases of melanoma in childhood and with a large number of adult patients, neither chemotherapy and conventional BCG immunotherapy nor irradiation seem to be an effective treatment and are accompanied by many adverse side effects. Therefore in one patient therapy was limited to surgery alone. In the other child it was followed by treatment with high-dose recombinant alpha-2-interferon (1 Mill. i.u./Kg X d) plus an H2-receptor antagonist. Unexpectedly this girl developed neurological side effects, characterized by spastic paraparesis, indicating damage to the first motoneuron. All symptoms completely resolved after discontinuation of drugs within three months. Both children have been in complete remission for 18+ and 32+ months, respectively.