Objective: To study the frequency and distribution of non-cutaneous malignant melanoma in NorthernPakistan using a cross-sectional descriptive design at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Rawalpindi,from 1987-2008. Materials and Methods: A total of 234 cases of malignant melanoma reported from 1987-2008were retrieved from the AFIP tumour registry and analysed for age, gender and site using computer softwareSPSS 12. Results: Of a total of 58,680 malignant cases reported at AFIP from 1987-2008, only 234 (0.4%) wereof malignant melanoma, 142 in males and 92 in females. The age range was 10-97years, with a mean of 53±16.Only 69 (29.5%) were cutaneous and 165 (70.5%) were non-cutaneous in origin: there were 62 (37.4%) casesfrom anorectal region, 39 (23.4%)were from eye ball and 17 (10.2%) in the nasopharynx, 13 cases (7.8%) fromoral mucosa and 11 (6.6%) from the vagina. Conclusion: Malignant melanoma is markedly less cutaneous inPakistan as compared to the western world, often being found in the anorectal region followed by the eye,nasopharynx, and oral mucosa in descending order.
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