Background. In order to obtain an early diagnosis and a more reliable prognosis of the cutaneous malignant melanoma, the microcirculation of 31 pigmented skin lesions before the surgical remotion was studied. The aim was double: to evaluate the presence of a statistically significant difference between benign and malignant flow and, at the same time, to establish a correlation between the values of flow found in malignant melanomas and their thickness. Methods. The method of research used was the laser-Doppler flowmetry, which was performed on the lesions and subsequently compared with that obtained on the contralateral body part or on the adjacent healthy skin in each patient. Two parameters for the benign and malignant lesions have been used, i.e. the difference and the relation between the flowmetry readings of the lesions and those of the contralateral healthy skin. The same parameters were used to compare the flowmetry in melanomas and their thickness. Results. The mean blood flow readings obtained in melanomas and in benign cutaneous lesions was, respectively, 25.618 and 4.465, so that no significant differences between the two groups of lesions was found. Moreover, no correlation was found between melanomas and their thickness. Conclusions. The results obtained stress the short efficacy of the laser- Doppler technique in the early diagnosis and in the prognosis of the malignant cutaneous melanomas of the skin.
