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Melanoma in Children and Teenagers

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Cutaneous Melanoma

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Abstract

Melanoma occurs in all age groups. While under the age of 10 years melanoma is exceedingly rare, increasing numbers are seen within puberty and young adulthood. Under the age of 10 years, melanoma qualifies as an orphan disease, and the annual incidence is <2 per million; no clinical studies exist, evidence-based guidelines for diagnosis and treatment as well as information on biological behavior are scarce. Before puberty, melanoma often presents with atypical amelanotic or raised lesions and does not follow the ABCDE rule. Diagnosis is often challenging as no consensus criteria for “melanocytic tumors of uncertain malignant potential” (MELTUMP), atypical Spitz tumors, and true melanoma do exist. On the other hand, survival and risk factors are similar to those found in adults. While surgical and medical management still follows adult guidelines, there has been a better understanding of specific characteristics of pediatric melanoma, recently. First pediatric clinical studies have been conducted.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Eberhard Karls University, Tuebingen, Germany

    Ines B. Brecht

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Ira J. Dunkel

  3. Centre for Dermatooncology, Department of Dermatology, Eberhard Karls University, Tuebingen, Germany

    Claus Garbe

Authors
  1. Ines B. Brecht
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  2. Ira J. Dunkel
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  3. Claus Garbe
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Claus Garbe .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Charles M. Balch

  2. Department of Oncology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington, DC, USA

    Michael B. Atkins

  3. Centre for Dermatooncology, Department of Dermatology, Eberhard Karls University, Tuebingen, Germany

    Claus Garbe

  4. Departments of Surgical Oncology and Cancer Biology, Melanoma and Skin Center, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Jeffrey E. Gershenwald

  5. Dermatology Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Allan C. Halpern

  6. Departments of Medicine, Dermatology, and Translational Science, University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    John M. Kirkwood

  7. Divisions of Cancer Medicine and Research, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Grant A. McArthur

  8. Melanoma Institute Australia, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    John F. Thompson

  9. Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Arthur J. Sober

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Brecht, I.B., Dunkel, I.J., Garbe, C. (2020). Melanoma in Children and Teenagers. In: Balch, C., et al. Cutaneous Melanoma. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05070-2_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05070-2_16

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