Little is known about the behaviour of melanoma in patients of mixed ancestry. A 
retrospective analysis of 844 consecutive patients presenting with melanoma over 
a 12-year period was performed. Forty patients (4.8%) were of mixed ancestry. 
The data evaluated included patient age, gender, delay in presentation, 
presenting stage, anatomical distribution, histology, management and outcome. 
The mean age at presentation was 52.8 years. Twenty-seven patients were female. 
The mean delay in presentation was 1.54 years. Seventy per cent of melanomas 
were confined to the extremities, of which one-third were plantar in origin. The 
most common histological variant, affecting 13 patients (32.5%), was acral 
lentiginous melanoma; 12.5% of patients presented with in situ (Stage 0) 
disease, 17.5% with Stage I disease, 22.5% with Stage II disease, 27.5% with 
Stage III disease and 7.5% with Stage IV disease. Twenty-seven patients (67.5%) 
remained alive at the end of the study after a median follow-up of 5.58 years, 
whilst 11 (27.5%) died after a median of 2.42 years. The median survival was 
3.92 years. Although the histological type and anatomical distribution reflect 
the disease pattern of black populations, the overall 5-year survival of 74% is 
similar to that seen in white populations. An education programme is needed to 
improve melanoma awareness in mixed race populations.