Mucosal Melanoma: Treatment Strategies for a Heterogeneous Disease

Mucosal melanoma (MM) is a potentially lethal malignant neoplasm arising in the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urogenital tracts. MM comprises less than 2% of all melanomas, and no increase in its incidence has been reported. The etiopathogenesis of mucosal melanoma is uncertain. Whenever feasible, complete surgical excision is the treatment of choice for patients with regional disease. The clinical utility of routine lymph node sampling and completion lymph node dissection in patients with mucosal melanoma remains uncertain. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have become the standard-of-care for cutaneous melanoma. However, the biology of MM differs from that of cutaneous melanoma. Thus, the intensity of the response of MM is somewhat lower than that of cutaneous melanoma. This editorial highlights the recent advances in the treatment of mucosal melanoma.