[Melanomas of the head and neck]

Apart from the skin on the extremities, the skin of the head, face and neck is more subject to melanomas than any other part of the body. The most favourable prognosis is for melanomas of the cheek and neck cutis. Melanomas of the upper respiratory tract are much less common. The diagnosis of mouth is astonishingly tardive. Malignant melanomas very rarely occur on the salivary glands. In all the above cases surgery is the treatment of choice for all primary tumours. In the cases of local lymph node melanomas, elective dissection appears to give the best long-term results, especially in the case of cutaneous melanomas of the head, neck and upper respiratory tract.