An analysis of data for histopathologic factors influencing survival was conducted on 798 cases of invasive cutaneous malignant melanoma. On univariate analysis, a number of factors influenced survival; however, when these factors were examined using a proportional-hazards model, sex and log of depth of penetration were the only factors governing survival. Moreover, these factors were only important in patients with lesions up to 4 mm in depth with no evidence of other disease. For patients with solitary lesions deeper than 4 mm, or patients with regional or distant disease, none of the factors examined in our study was of predictive value for survival assessment.