Clinical features and treatment outcome of malignant melanoma of the fingers

Abstract

Objective To explore the clinical features as well as the treatment outcome of malignant melanoma of fingers. Methods The clinical data of 22 eases of malignant melanoma of the fingers with histology confirmation that were admitted and treated from February 1995 to October 2007 in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed.The primary site of tumors was thumb in 12 cases,index finger in 3 cases,middle finger in 3 cases,ring finger in 2 cases,and little finger in 2 cases.The most often initial presentang symptom was pain and black patches in the fingers.Fifteen cases had subungual diseases,12 cases had history of trauma, and 2 cases had osteolytic lesion of the phalanx as shown in X-ray.The main treatments were surgery, chemotherapy and immunotherapy.All patients undertook finger amputation,while 13 cases had axillary lymph node reaction at the same time.Results Twenty-two patieats were followed,however 3 of them were lost to follow up 2 years later.The follow up period maged from 1 to 10 years,the average being 4.5 years.The 1-year,3-years and 5-years survival rates were 86.4%(19/22),63.2%(12/19) and 31.6%(6/19), respectively. Conclusion Malignant melanoma of the fingers is a rare malignant tumor.Combination therapy including surgery.chemotherapy and immunotherapy is the main treatment.The prognostic factors were the size and infiltrate depth of the tumor, and the clinical stages. Key words: Fingers; Neoplasms; Treatment outcome; Malignant melanoma