Melanoma in New South Wales 1970-76: surgical therapy and survival

From a survey of melanoma cases in New South Wales, a random sample was selected for histopathological review and follow up concerning surgical therapy and survival. It was found that the principal factors influencing survival were tumour thickness, level of mitotic activity and the age of the patient. The form of treatment in many cases bore little relationship to the severity of the tumour, as determined by its thickness, or to survival. It is hypothesised that survival rates would be higher and unnecessarily extensive surgery avoided if treatment were chosen with greater regard to established prognostic indicators.