| Abstract: | Cutaneous malignant melanoma in children and adolescents is rare. Of over 1600 patients documented in the Melanoma Registry at Frenchay Hospital from 1967 onwards, only 29 cases are recorded who were 21 years of age or younger. Of these, four patients were pre-pubertal (13 years or less) and none arose from a congenital "giant" naevus. Fifteen patients developed metastases, 10 of whom showed spread of tumour within 30 months of initial presentation. Eight of these patients with metastatic disease died, with a maximum survival of 61 months. Only seven patients, five of whom have metastatic disease, survive more than 10 years after first presentation; nine patients, one of whom has secondaries, survive for 5 years or less. |
