ORAL MUCOSAL MELANOMA: A CASE REPORT OF A LIFE-THREATENING DISEASE

• Published in: Oral surgery, oral medicine, oral pathology and oral radiology Vol. 134; no. 3; p. e103
• Main Authors: Silva, Jamerson Carvalho, De Lima Marinho Costa, Marina, De Aniz Castro, Ianna Josefa Valeska, Carrera, Manoela, Santos, Jean Nunes Dos, De Araújo Melo, Leonardo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.09.2022
• ISSN: 2212-4403; 2212-4411
• DOI: 10.1016/j.oooo.2022.01.124

Oral mucosal melanoma (OMM) is a rare malignancy of melanocytic origin, with a poor prognosis and low overall survival. We report a case of a 45-year-old male patient who presented with an ill-defined blackish-grey nodule, sometimes as a macule, affecting the maxillary gingiva and hard palate, with painless palpable lymph nodes. No clinical evidence of other extraoral lesions was found. Serologic tests for human immunodeficiency virus 1/2 were negative, and radiographs demonstrated a bone loss near the maxillary incisors. An incisional biopsy was performed in different sites, with OMM and Kaposi's sarcoma as clinical hypotheses. The histopathologic diagnosis was consistent with OMM and the patient was referred to the oncologist. OMM is a life-threatening disease, and its overall behavior is more aggressive than its cutaneous counterpart. All potential primary sites must be investigated in cases in which the oral cavity may not be the primary site.