Journal de dermatologie et des maladies dermatologiques

Primary Oral Mucosal Melanoma: a Short Review

Abstract

Hsieh Ricardo, Nico Marcello MS, Claudia M. Camillo-Coutinho, Fernandes Juliana D, Clovis Antonio Lopes Pinto and Lourenço Silvia

Primary Oral Mucosal Melanoma (POMM) is a very rare entity and it develops from malignant transformation of melanocytes from mucosal epithelium. POMM has a very poor prognosis and aggressive behavior. It represents only 0.5% of all oral malignancies, accounting 0.2 to 8% of all melanomas, with an incidence of 1.2 cases per 10 million per year. POMM is asymptomatic in its early stages and usually not noticed by the patients, resulting in the delay in diagnosis. Immunoreactivity of melanoma cells to antibodies against: S-100 protein; Melan-A (MART-1) and HMB-45 (gp100) can be very useful to distinguish POMM from other malignancies. Others markers may indicate variations in its biologic behavior and prognosis, such as Ki-67; P53 and P16, and maybe useful for prognostic prediction.