Experience with malignant melanoma of the head and neck

Data on 127 patients with malignant melanoma who had a minimum 5-year follow-up have been analyzed. A good, though not yet significant, correlation appears to exist between length of survival and the diameter and the thickness of the primary lesion, the level of the tumor invasion, and the type of melanoma. A further analysis of patients with Stage I disease lends support to the use of "prophylactic" node dissection when the primary lesions penetrate to levels 4 or 5, or when they are 1.5 mm or greater in thickness. Our current overall approach to the management of malignant melanoma of the head and neck is outlined.