Question:
I am seeking help and/or information. My son, 22 months old DOB 9-21-97, had a mole removed from the top of
his left hand by a dermatologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital on 8-1-97. The mole was removed with a 5
mm punch. On 8-8-97 I was notified that the pathology workup revealed that the mole was a malignant
carcinoma. We researched photographs and learned that the mole was first identified, faintly, in November
1996. At this point, we are pending a referral to a pediatric plastic surgeon. Beside being in shock, we are
trying to learn about malignant melanomas in children. Our pediatrician has not had any similar cases. The
dermatologist said the
condition is normally associated with older persons with histories of excessive sun exposure. Can anyone
provide any information? We are desperate to learn about the disease, treatment options and prognosis
information. We were initially informed that a surgical excision of the boarders with a skin grafting would likely
occur under general
anesthesia.
The lab report diagnosis provided the following information:
Site: Left hand dorsum.
Malignant melanoma, superficial spreading type. Clark's level II, Breslow's depth 0.36 mm.
Dermopathology Report Comments: The tumor appears mostly to be mostly in the radial growth phase and most
of the tumor cells are in siu. Nevertheless there is a small focus of papillary dermis involvement with a possible
precursor nevomelanocytic lesion. The tumor extends to the margin of the biopsy.
Any help or information would be greatly appreciated.
Answer:
You are right about melanoma being a disease of adults. However, any
adult neoplasm can be seen in children. I have one other, albeit
discomforting thought. As a fellow, I though an infant with melanoma
who's mother had the disease and passed it through the placenta. Could
you have had melanoma? (look up the article by I. Brodsky thirty to
forty years ago)
