title: Malignant melanoma of the female genital tract. A report of nine cases in the Chinese of Hong Kong.
abstract: Ten cases of malignant melanoma of the female genital tract were diagnosed in Chinese patients in Hong Kong over the 12 yr period from 1978 to 1990. Of the 9 cases considered here, 4 involved the vagina alone, 2 the vagina and cervix, 2 the uterine cervix alone, and 1 occurred on the vulva. Thus, contrary to the usual reported distribution, the vulva was an uncommon site. While the mean age of the patients was 58 yrs, 2 patients were in their thirties and both had a history of a recent pregnancy. Vaginal bleeding or discharge were the presenting symptoms in most cases. The primary origin was confirmed histologically in 6 of the 9 cases and all were of the mucosal lentiginous type. Deep invasion, beyond 3 mm, was present in all cases at the time of diagnosis. Five patients died of the disease 2-22 months after diagnosis. The 4 surviving patients were clinical Stage I and II (FIGO) when diagnosed and have a median survival of 18 months to date. Both the FIGO clinical stage and Breslow's tumor thickness proved to be good prognostic indicators.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Hong Kong.
authors.forename: U S
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Khoo
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: H Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Ngan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D014625:Vaginal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D014846:Vulvar Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery