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
. 2025 Jan 28;15(2):191.
doi: 10.3390/life15020191.

Malignant Melanoma of the Tongue: A Scoping Review

Antonio Di Guardo  1 , Alvise Sernicola  2 , Carmen Cantisani  1 , Steven Paul Nisticò  1 , Giovanni Pellacani  1
Affiliations
Review

Malignant Melanoma of the Tongue: A Scoping Review

Antonio Di Guardo et al. Life (Basel). .

Abstract

Malignant melanoma of the tongue is a rare and highly aggressive neoplasm, constituting less than 2% of oral melanomas. Due to its rarity and atypical clinical presentation, diagnosis and management pose significant challenges. This study provides a scoping review of research on melanoma of the tongue to determine the available data on the epidemiology, clinical features, histopathological characteristics, treatment strategies, and outcomes of this malignancy. Our literature search identified papers published from 1941 to 2024, and 47 individual cases were analyzed. The mean age at diagnosis was 58.6 years, with a male predominance (58.1%). Lesions were most frequently located on the body and lateral borders of the tongue. A high percentage (38.5%) presented with distant metastases at diagnosis, commonly involving the lungs and brain. Histopathological examination highlighted spindle cell morphology in many cases, with immunohistochemical markers such as HMB-45 and S-100 proving essential for diagnosis. Wide local excision with or without neck dissection was the primary treatment, though recurrence rates remained high (20.5%). Despite aggressive management, overall outcomes were poor, reflecting the melanoma's advanced stage at diagnosis in most cases. This scoping review underscores the need for heightened clinical suspicion, particularly for pigmented or ulcerative lesions of the tongue. Early diagnosis, multidisciplinary management, and further research into the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying tongue melanoma are crucial to improve outcomes for this rare and aggressive disease.

Keywords: malignant melanoma; mucosal melanoma; oral neoplasms; review; tongue melanoma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Molecular pathways contributing to the progression of mucosal melanoma. Red-filled rectangles represent genes with activating mutations or amplifications, while blue-filled rectangles denote genes with inactivating mutations or deletions. Created in BioRender. Di Guardo, A. (2025) https://BioRender.com/j31o697 (accessed on 19 January 2025).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Flow chart of search results and study selection according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Frequency of different anatomical locations for melanoma of the tongue. Created in BioRender. Di Guardo, A. (2025) https://BioRender.com/q01j455 (accessed on 19 January 2025).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Santeufemia D.A., Palmieri G., Miolo G., Colombino M., Doro M.G., Frogheri L., Paliogiannis P., Capobianco G., Madonia M., Cossu A., et al. Current Trends in Mucosal Melanomas: An Overview. Cancers. 2023;15:1356. doi: 10.3390/cancers15051356. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ascierto P.A., Accorona R., Botti G., Farina D., Fossati P., Gatta G., Gogas H., Lombardi D., Maroldi R., Nicolai P., et al. Mucosal Melanoma of the Head and Neck. Crit. Rev. Oncol. Hematol. 2017;112:136–152. doi: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2017.01.019. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Williams M.D. Update from the 4th Edition of the World Health Organization Classification of Head and Neck Tumours: Mucosal Melanomas. Head Neck Pathol. 2017;11:110–117. doi: 10.1007/s12105-017-0789-y. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Şendişçi Gök R., Tercanlı H. A Ten-Year Literature Review of Oral Malignant Melanoma Cases: A Meta-Analysis Study. J. Stomatol. Oral Maxillofac. Surg. 2024;125:101922. doi: 10.1016/j.jormas.2024.101922. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kirkwood J.M., Ibrahim J.G., Sosman J.A., Sondak V.K., Agarwala S.S., Ernstoff M.S., Rao U. High-Dose Interferon Alfa-2b Significantly Prolongs Relapse-Free and Overall Survival Compared with the GM2-KLH/QS-21 Vaccine in Patients with Resected Stage IIB-III Melanoma: Results of Intergroup Trial E1694/S9512/C509801. J. Clin. Oncol. 2001;19:2370–2380. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2001.19.9.2370. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources