Primary Malignant Melanoma at Base of the Tongue

Abstract

Primary malignant melanoma is rarely seen in the oral cavity, especially in the tongue. However, the base of the tongue is an extremely rare location for primary malignant melanoma. A 68-year-old male attended the otorhinolaryngology clinic with complaint of foreign-body sensation in the throat for 1 year. Intraoral examination showed a painless and black-colored mass on the right side of the base of the tongue. Histopathology report showed the diagnosis of a malignant melanoma. He underwent composite resection of the tumor and right-sided functional neck dissection. Early diagnosis should be made by proper examination of the oral cavity and oropharynx and early biopsy of the pigmented and nonpigmented mass. Early detection and treatment is required for better prognosis of the malignant melanoma at the base of tongue.

Primary Amelanotic Malignant Melanoma of the Tongue

“…[7][8][9] In a literature review, we retrieved 36 cases of tongue melanoma from 1939 to 2021 in the PubMed and Google Scholar databases, using the keywords "primary melanoma tongue," "amelanotic melanoma tongue," "oral melanoma," and "tongue cancer." [3][4][5] Baxter (1939) reported the first case of primary malignant melanoma of the tongue. 10 In the cases retrieved from the literature, the mean patient age was 56.9 years (range, 7 to 90 years), and the highest incidence was seen in the seventh decade (Table ).…”

“…2 Mucosal melanomas often display invasive and aggressive clinicopathologic behavior and a dismal prognosis compared to cutaneous melanoma. 3,4 The 5-year survival rate of oral melanoma is 6.6% to 20%. 5 The diagnosis of melanoma can typically be made with morphologic investigations when melanin is present, but immunohistochemistry analyses are crucial for amelanotic lesions.…”

“…Because of the rarity of tongue malignant melanoma, definitive diagnostic tools and therapies have yet to be developed. 3 We report the case of a 27-year-old male who presented with an ulceroproliferative mass on the dorsum of the tongue. The clinical diagnosis was squamous cell carcinoma, but primary amelanotic malignant melanoma was the final diagnosis on microscopy.…”

“… 2 Mucosal melanomas often display invasive and aggressive clinicopathologic behavior and a dismal prognosis compared to cutaneous melanoma. 3 , 4 The 5-year survival rate of oral melanoma is 6.6% to 20%. 5…”

“…Because of the rarity of tongue malignant melanoma, definitive diagnostic tools and therapies have yet to be developed. 3 …”