Primary malignant melanoma of left buccal mucosa with metastasis in thyroid: a case report

Primary oral malignant melanomas are rare with an incidence of .2 to 8% of all melanomas. Less than 1% of them arise on buccal mucosa. Grossly they arise as a black macule with irregular borders & are commonly of mucosal lentiginous type. They appear at a higher stage and are aggressive with a 5 yr survival rate of 10-25%. 39% of metastasis in thyroid occur from skin (melanomas) and melanomas produce a thyroid mass while the original source remains occult. We report a case of oral malignant melanoma of left buccal mucosa for its rarity and its spread to cervical lymph nodes and thyroid.