Malignant melanoma of the eyelid skin: histopathology and behaviour.

Histological sections from 24 patients with malignant melanoma of the eyelid skin were studied and correlated with clinical follow-up for an average of 8.6 years. There was an average post-treatment follow-up of 7.4 years with a cure rate of 78% in the superficial spreading group. The average follow-up in the nodular melanoma group was 9.4 years with a cure rate of 75%. Nodular melanoma patients with the lesion in the lid margin have a worse prognosis than those with the lesion on the eyelid skin.