Melanoma of the Oral Cavity: a Case Report

The most predominant sites for oral malignant melanoma (MM) are the maxillary gingiva and hard palate that usually involve parts of the maxilla. The signs and symptoms of oral MM vary widely and clinically can present anywhere from a small irregular pigmented or discolored site, to a friable-pigmented lesion, to ulceration, to a non-pigmented mass. Many of patients do not show early symptoms, leading to most oral malignant melanomas being diagnosed at an advanced stage. The poor prognosis for this lesion relates to the amount of tumor cell vertical growth phase. However, surgery provides the best chance for long-term survival. The overall poor prognosis of oral MM must encourage health care practitioners to be careful with any changes in color or texture of oral mucosa. Case report (J Int Dent Med Res 2014; 7: (3), pp. 56-59)