Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2010;15(7):772-81.
doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.2010-0067. Epub 2010 Jun 22.

Mucosal melanomas: a case-based review of the literature

Nagashree Seetharamu  1 , Patrick A Ott, Anna C Pavlick
Affiliations
Review

Mucosal melanomas: a case-based review of the literature

Nagashree Seetharamu et al. Oncologist. 2010.

Abstract

Mucosal melanoma is a rare cancer that is clearly distinct from its cutaneous counterpart in biology, clinical course, and prognosis. Recent studies have shown important differences in the frequencies of various genetic alterations in different subtypes of melanoma. Activating mutations in the c-KIT gene are detected in a significant number of patients with mucosal melanoma. This observation has resulted in the initiation of several clinical trials aimed at exploring the role of receptor tyrosine kinases that inhibit c-KIT in this patient population. We herein present a comprehensive literature review of mucosal melanoma along with case vignettes of a number of pertinent cases. We further discuss melanomas of the head and neck, the female genital tract, and the anorectum, which are the three most common sites of mucosal melanoma, with a particular focus on the diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic data available in the literature.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosures

Nagashree Seetharamu: None; Patrick A. Ott: None; Anna C. Pavlick: None.

Section Editor Steven O'Day discloses a consultant or advisory role with Bristol-Myers Squibb and Roche, honoraria received from Bristol-Myers Squibb, and research funding from Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and GlaxoSmithKline.

Section Editor Jeffrey Weber discloses intellectual property rights on an abandoned patent with Medarex (now Bristol-Myers Squibb); honoraria received from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eisai, Roche, Novartis, Medtronics, and Biogen; a consultant role with Altor, Ichor Medical Systems, and Celldex; and ownership interest with Altor.

Reviewer “A” discloses no financial relationships.

Reviewer “B” discloses no financial relationships.

The content of this article has been reviewed by independent peer reviewers to ensure that it is balanced, objective, and free from commercial bias. On the basis of disclosed information, all conflicts of interest have been resolved.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Oral melanoma. Also seen in the picture are multiple cutaneous metastatic nodules.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Oral amelanotic melanoma (yellow arrow) seen adjacent to an area of oral melanosis (green arrow).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Vulvar melanoma.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Anorectal melanoma with perianal extension.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Chang AE, Karnell LH, Menck HR The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer and the American Cancer Society. The National Cancer Data Base report on cutaneous and noncutaneous melanoma: A summary of 84,836 cases from the past decade. Cancer. 1998;83:1664–1678. - PubMed
    1. McLaughlin CC, Wu XC, Jemal A, et al. Incidence of noncutaneous melanomas in the U.S. Cancer. 2005;103:1000–1007. - PubMed
    1. Lincoln RP. A case of melano-sarcoma of the nose cured by galvanocauterization. N Y Med J. 1885;42:406–407.
    1. Pandey M, Mathew A, Abraham EK, et al. Primary malignant melanoma of the mucous membranes. Eur J Surg Oncol. 1998;24:303–307. - PubMed
    1. Broomhall C. Malignant melanoma of the oral cavity in Ugandan Africans. Br J Surg. 1967;54:581–584. - PubMed