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.
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