Prognostic factors in malignant melanoma: a retrospective analysis of 182 patients

The records of 182 patients with malignant melanoma, referred to the Regional Radiotherapy Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne, between January 1975 and December 1980, have been reviewed to determine the influence of site of disease, age and sex of the patient, Clark's levels and stage of disease on the prognosis. Site and age were found to have no influence on the survival rate. The difference in the survival rates of males and females was almost entirely accounted for by the difference in their disease at the time of presentation. Survival was found to be highly significantly affected by the Clark's levels (p less than 0.0001) and by the stage of disease (p less than 0.0001).