Primary oral malignant melanoma metastasis to the brain and breast: A case report and literature review

• Published in: Oncology letters Vol. 14; no. 2; pp. 1275 - 1280
• Main Authors: Alqahtani, Saad, Alhefdhi, Amal Y, Almalik, Osama, Anwar, Ihab, Mahmood, Rana, Mahasin, Zeyad, Al-Tweigeri, Taher
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Greece D.A. Spandidos 01.08.2017; Spandidos Publications; Spandidos Publications UK Ltd
• Subjects: Antigens; brain; breast; Breast cancer; Cancer therapies; Care and treatment; Case reports; Case studies; Diagnosis; Lymphatic system; Medical imaging; Medical prognosis; Melanoma; Metastasis; metastatic melanoma; Mouth cancer; Mutation; Oncology; Oral cancer; Patients; primary oral malignant melanoma; Proteins; Radiation therapy; Skin cancer; Smooth muscle; Transcription factors; Tumors; primary oral malignant melanoma; brain; breast; metastatic melanoma
• ISSN: 1792-1074; 1792-1082
• DOI: 10.3892/ol.2017.6304

Primary oral malignant melanoma is a rare tumor, which is estimated to comprise 0.2-8.0% of all melanoma cases. This type of cancer is fairly uncommon, its prognosis is dismal, and it frequently exhibits a biologically aggressive behavior. The common location of primary oral malignant melanoma is the hard palate and maxillary alveolus. In ~85% of cases, the melanoma will metastasize to the liver, lung, bone and brain early in the course of the disease. The present study reports the case of a 50-year-old premenopausal woman who presented with primary oral malignant spindle cell melanoma (T3bN2aM0) and underwent complete surgical resection followed by an adjuvant course of radiation therapy. After 1 year, the patient presented with sudden onset slurred speech, and upon examination, was found to have left-sided hemiparesis and a hard left breast mass. Workup confirmed breast and brain metastasis. The patient developed lung metastasis 4 weeks later and was referred for palliative care.