The association between anatomic site and survival in malignant melanoma. An analysis of 12,353 cases from the Swedish Cancer Registry.

The relationship between site and survival in cutaneous malignant melanoma was investigated by a follow-up of 12,353 Swedish patients diagnosed in 1960-1982. In males, the poorest prognosis was found for tumors located on the scalp-neck region (5-year relative survival rate, RS51%), followed by the lower extremity (RS66%) and trunk (RS68%). Among females, the poorest prognosis was noted for tumors located on the external ear (5-year RS 71%), trunk (RS 78%) and scalp-neck (RS 78%). The prognosis varied considerably between the sites of the head-neck region--for eyelid and facial lesions the prognosis was good, but for external ear and scalp-neck tumors it was poor. Multivariate analysis taking into account age and year of diagnosis showed the highest relative hazards (RH) for female lesions of the trunk (1.40) and male scalp-neck tumors (1.65), with the upper extremity used as reference (RH = 1.00). Except for lesions of the trunk, no significant differences in RH were found between the various sites after 4 years of observation.