Melanoma in a southeastern Hispanic population.

A descriptive analysis was performed of the Tumor Registry data for malignant melanoma in Hispanics ascertained by the Jackson Memorial Hospital (JMH), University of Miami School of Medicine Tumor Registry. A total of 54 cases of melanoma in Hispanics was collected and reviewed. Most of the lesions of melanoma occurred on the trunk, arm, shoulder, leg, and hip. Seventy percent of the Hispanics presented with local stage disease; 26% presented with both regional and distant disease. Local stage had the best 5-year survival (87%). In regional and distant disease combined, the survival was better for Hispanics than non-Hispanics (p = 0.01). In addition, it was found that the Hispanics in the over 50-year-old age group did better than the non-Hispanics in the same group (p = 0.05). Comparison of survival between Hispanic males and females shows that Hispanic females have a 5-year survival of 86% compared to 56% for Hispanic males (p = 0.017).