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Nine subjects of Celtic and mixed European descent were exposed to small (½ hour) doses of ultraviolet light (UVL) on 10 consecutive days in a commercial solarium to determine the effects of UVL on epidermal melanocytes and immunocompetent Langerhans cells (LCs). Tanned and non-tanned subjects were studied to determine whether pigmentation from melanocytes provided the LCs with any protection against these UVL effects. A transient reduction in the number of LCs occurred in response to UVL exposure, returning to near pre-exposure levels two weeks after cessation of the solarium course. The tan which developed or deepened following the UVL exposure appeared to provide little or no protection against this reduction, regardless of whether the subjects were lightly tanned or untanned prior to the solarium course. Even though the number of subjects examined was small these results indicate that exposure to solarium UVL irradiation, even in small doses, may adversely affect the skin immune system and therefore is not recommended as a safe means of acquiring a tan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Langerhans cells and melanocyte distribution was determined in 18 different body sites in 76 cadavers, 44 men and 32 women, within 24 hours of death. The Langerhans cell and melanocyte counts were inversely related so that in sun-exposed (tanned) epidermis Langerhans cell numbers were lower and melanocyte numbers were higher than in non-exposed (non-tanned) epidermis. Langerhans cell and melanocyte densities were similar in men and women on non-exposed (non-tanned) epidermis when matched by age. In any one subject Langerhans cell densities were even throughout the body except on sun-exposed (tanned) areas, where Langerhans cell counts were not only significantly lower but the cells were also unevenly distributed. Langerhans cell counts for all body areas decreased with age in both men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a restrospective study of 3.128 patients with primary melanoma, 90 were found to have more than one primary lesion, an incidence of 2.9%. Wherever possible, comparisons were made between single and multiple primary lesion patients with reference to age. sex. racial background, skin, hair, eye colouring, distribution and characteristics of the primary melanoma lesions. Patients with one melanoma had a greater risk of developing another and their skin appeared to be more susceptible to sun damage. Patients with multiple abnormal pigmented naevi also had an increased risk of developing a second primary melanoma. Having one primary lesion tended to alert both patient and doctor and resulted in earlier diagnosis of the second lesion. Although these patients developed multiple melanomas, (heir prognosis was more favourable than in patients with a single primary melanoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eleven patients suffering from malignant melanoma have been found to have varying degrees of vitiligo. The association of the two conditions may be purely coincidental; however, there are several features both of melanoma and of the vitiligo in these patients which suggest that there could be some relationship between the behaviour of melanoma and the development of vitiligo. The cases are reported with a view to pooling experience of a rare association of events. Depigmentation associated with malignant melanoma may take one of several forms, Milton (1969); the primary lesion may undergo total spontaneous regression leaving an amelanotic scar; all or part of a growing primary lesion may become amelanotic; the skin in the immediate vicinity of a primary melanoma may become amelanotic. Metastatic melanoma can also be associated with depigmentation because the deposits themselves are quite often amelanotic and rarely skin secondaries may show pale halos of depigmentation. The pale halos often develop after successful chemotherapeutic treatment or, on rare occasions, spontaneously. This paper presents eleven cases of depigmentation (vitiligo) which was not closely related to either the primary lesions or to metastases. The clinical course of some of these cases was unusual and a speculation is advanced that vitiligo associated with malignant melanoma may have some bearing on the prognosis of the disease. It is hoped that the publication of this report will stimulate a search for cases in which a possible correlation between vitiligo and malignant melanoma can be either proved or disproved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence and prognosis of cutaneous melanoma in children under 13 years of age has always been difficult to assess. The main reasons for this difficulty include the rarity of melanoma in children, referral biases from investigating institutions, changing conceptions in the histological diagnosis of true melanoma, and the lack of large enough study groups with sufficient follow-up to estimate 10-year survival rates. The present study documents 32 cases of childhood cutaneous melanoma drawn from the records of two large referral centres in New South Wales, Australia: the Sydney Melanoma Unit and the Newcastle Melanoma Unit in order to demonstrate some of the difficulties in the assessment of incidence and prognosis in children.