Immunosurgical treatment of stage I malignant melanoma

Summary We treated thirty seven patients suffering from a clinical stage I malignant melanoma by immunosurgery and observed them for a three-year period ending December 1975. Prior to surgery the tumor was submitted to the application of DNCB. Patients were divided between those who had or had not been subjected to biopsy before starting treatment. Accordingly, 23 patients treated by immunosurgery as the first treatment, were called the primitive treatment group and 14 patients subjected to a previous biopsy, the secondary treatment group. In the primitive treatment group, all 23 patients survived without any sign of recurrence. Relapse was observed in 4 out of 14 patients of the biopsy group. Extensive histological investigations have been made by light and electron microscopes. The tumors were infiltrated and disrupted by a large number of mononucleated cells. The majority of infiltrating cells were small lymphocytes. True lymphatic follicles have been observed in the skin around the melanoma.