Melanoma in Children

To give a child the ominous diagnosis of malignant melanoma is a very difficult decision for both clinician and pathologist. Difficulties in histologic diagnosis combined with a reluctance on the part of the clinician may lead to delays in diagnosis and curative surgical intervention. In fact, some melanomas in children are misdiagnosed clinically as benign lesions and recognized as melanomas only after excision. It is imperative to recognize that malignant melanoma occurs in children and to appreciate its clinical characteristics and predisposing factors.Incidence and PrognosisApproximately 2 percent of melanomas occur in patients under the age of 20 years, . . .