Primary Malignant Oral Melanoma: Report of Two Cases

Melanoma of the oral cavity is a rare malignant neoplasm representing 0.2-8% of all melanomas. The tumour more commonly affects the hard palate and the maxillary gingiva. It is well known that the lesion is very aggressive and has poor prognosis instead of its cutaneous counderparts. Diagnosis of intraoral melanoma is based on clinical suspicion and confirmed by biopsy. It is usually asymptomatic and is incidentally discovered by the dentist, otolarygolgist, internist or by the patient. Surgery is the first therapeutic option combined with chemotherapy. In this study, two cases of primary malignant melanoma of the oral cavity are presented. In the first case, a 62 years old man presented to the department with an asymptomatic tumor, dark blue in colour, located in the middline of the anterior region of the edentoulous maxilla. His past medical history was unremarkable and there was not a history of tobacco or alcohol consumption. The biopsy revealed a melanoma of the maxilla and a partial maxillectomy was performed. The defect covered with a superiorly based nasolabial island flap. The surgical specimen was in clear margin but the patient died 2 years later. In the second case, a 69 years old patient presented to the departement with a melanoma in the middle of the left alveolar process of the maxilla. The patient subjected in partial maxillectomy and the oroantral communication occurred, covered with buccal fat pad and the surgical defect covered with membrane. Adjunct chemotherapy was performed but the patient died 25 months after the operation.