A rare case report of Intraoral Mucosal malignant melanoma of Amelanotic type treated by radiotherapy

Mucosal malignant melanoma is rare in the oral cavity and accounts for less than 1% of all melanomas. Nevertheless, the disease can be fatal, early diagnosis and treatment may improve prognosis dramatically. Malignant melanoma may present itself without clinically evident pigmentation termed amelanotic melanoma; these lesions tend to have a worse prognosis because of delayed recognition and subsequent treatment. Radiotherapy alone has resulted in complete or partial responses, even though in the past malignant mucosal melanoma had been considered radio-resistant. Radiotherapy may be appropriate for patients with unresectable local disease, elderly patients who are poor surgical candidates or patients who refuse surgery. We report a rare case of intraoral amelanotic mucosal malignant melanoma with regional lymph node metastasis in a 54 year old male treated by radiotherapy with favourable treatment outcome. (author)