[A rare case of local relapsing oral melanoma]

Abstract

Melanoma of the oral mucosa is an extremely rare tumor. At the time of diagnosis most melanomas are in an advanced stage because of few clinical signs. Therefore the prognosis of melanoma of the oral mucosa is often very poor. We present a 48-year-old patient with melanoma of the oral mucosa first diagnosed 22 years ago. Over 20 years several wide excisions were necessary because of multiple local relapses. Eventually, the patient died from brain metastases.