Scalp melanoma

Abstract

Scalp melanoma is defined as melanoma that occurs on the usually hair-bearing area of the head, although it is commonly included within the group of head/neck melanomas. Scalp melanoma has been referred to as an invisible killer, because of its poorer prognosis compared with melanoma on other body sites [1-4]. Remarkably, if the head and neck region is subdivided into non-hair-bearing and hair-bearing areas, significant differences in distribution of the various melanoma subtypes, as well as in sex and prognosis, can be found; thus, lentigo maligna and lentigo maligna melanoma is the most common type, occurring on facial skin of elderly females, whereas superficial spreading melanoma and nodular melanoma are predominantly found on the scalp and ear in males over the age of 50 years [2, 5-7]. © 2007 Springer-Verlag.