Melanoma of the vulva. The experience at Buenos Aires University

Nine cases of vulvar melanoma were studied: the histologic variants, depth of invasion and prognostic significance of these factors and of node involvement were analyzed. The histologic types were in situ melanoma (one case), superficial spreading melanoma (two cases) and nodular melanoma (six cases). The mean age of the patients was 64.9 years. Eight patients were treated with radical surgery and one with chemotherapy only. We found a good prognosis for in situ melanoma with free margins; a tendency for superficial spreading melanoma to recur, though it has a good prognosis when it does not exceed Clark level II; and an ominous prognosis for nodular melanoma, probably because of its late diagnosis.