Malignant mucosal melanoma of the right maxillary sinus: a case report

The case of a 74-year-old female is reported. The patient was under long-term review for melanosis affecting the mucosa of the upper right alveolar ridge. The patient developed a primary mucosal melanoma at the site 5 years later and underwent a right maxillectomy and a modified right neck dissection to level 5 nodes. The defect was covered with an obturator; the patient is at present clinically disease free. Mucosal melanomas account for 1% of all melanomas reported. This is a more aggressive tumor than the cutaneous melanoma, which is reflected in the low survival rate of 3 years (approximately 50%). Of the patients that survive to 5 years, 50% will have residual disease. Surgical procedure is indicated to reduce the tumor burden, but difficulties associated with gaining complete resection mean that both local and distant metastasis is problematic. More radical resection and adjunctive radiotherapy have not been shown to increase survival times.