Primary and metastatic melanoma : aspects of follow-up and staging

Melanoma is the most malignant entity of all skin cancers. It arises generally from moles (naevi). The peak incidence is in the fifth decade of life, although, the young and the elderly can also develop the disease. Its incidence has been rising in the last few decades in almost all geographic areas, although it varies in magnitude between different continents. The registered incidence in Australia was 80/100.000 in 2002, compared to a registered incidence of 16.1/100.000 in the Netherlands in 2003.