Melanoma of the mouth is a rare entity of cancer with a bad prognosis.
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Tobacco and alcohol use are two of the most important risk factors for oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers.
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Maxillofacial surgeons and physicians who treat oral lesions must be conscious of the need for early diagnosis of melanoma.
Abstract
Melanoma of the mouth is a rare entity of cancer. It has a bad prognosis. We report two cases of mouth melanoma. In the first case, 68 years old man developed a mandibular gingival tumor. Head and neck MRI scans showed an aggressive tumor process in the mouth with bone extension and in the deep spaces. The patient was free of cervical lymph nodes. The second case is a 75-years-old male with heavy tobacco smoke. The man felt a burgeoning mass on the right palate. The neck palpation found a firm mobile non-tender mass at the left upper jugular region. The anatomopathological study of the biopsies assigned both cases to malignant melanoma. Because of the rarity and delays in diagnosis, case reports are an invaluable source of information.