[A nonpigmented melanoblastoma of the mandibular alveolar process]

A 64-year-old male patient consulted a doctor for a tumor-like formation in the left submandibular area. The dentist detected ulceration of the alveolar process from the V to the VII tooth. Histological examination diagnosed pigment-free melanoblastoma, a tumor extremely rare in the oral cavity; the prognosis in such a tumor is much worse than in skin melanomas. This case confirms a viewpoint that tumors in the oral cavity are difficult to diagnose and they are usually diagnosed after they manifest themselves by metastases.