title: Mucosal malignant melanoma of the head and neck: the Marsden experience over half a century.
abstract: We reviewed patients treated at The Royal Marsden Hospital for mucosal malignant melanoma of the head and neck between 1945 and 1996. The analysis included 89 patients, and this study is the largest so far reported from a single institution in the literature. The overall 5-year survival rate for the patient population was 23% (95% confidence interval: 14-33) and the 10-year survival rate was 12%, (6-21%). The only significant predictor of survival was the tumour stage at presentation. Radical local excision was the only treatment that provided a chance of cure. Adding radiotherapy to surgery in tumours that could be radically excised did not confer any statistically significant advantage in reducing local recurrence or improving survival.
authors.affiliation: Head and Neck Unit, The Royal Marsden NHS Trust, London, UK.
authors.forename: N W
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Yii
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Eisen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nicolson
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: A'Hern
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rhys-Evans
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Archer
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Henk
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Gore
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D020545:Respiratory Mucosa; D015996:Survival Rate