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Mucosal melanoma of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, San Francisco 94143-0342, USA.
Background:
Mucosal melanomas of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses are rare and do poorly.
Methods:
Seventeen patients treated from 1981 to 1993 at a single referral center were retrospectively reviewed.
Results:
Thirteen patients underwent surgical resection, with seven receiving postoperative radiotherapy. Eight had microscopically negative margins. The actuarial 2-year and 5-year survivals for this group of 13 were 67% (8 of 12) and 20% (2 of 10). The local recurrence rate was 85% (11 of 13) and distant metastases occurred in 31% (4 of 13) patients. In the absence of metastatic disease, resection of recurrent tumor correlated with disease-free intervals ranging from 3 months to 40 months.
Conclusions:
Those who received postoperative radiotherapy appeared to have done better with increased disease-free intervals and prolonged survival. Negative surgical margins were not predictive of a more favorable outcome. Surgical resection followed by postoperative radiotherapy is appropriate and resection of recurrent tumor should be considered.