Primary malignant melanoma arising from the base of the tongue.
A rare case of malignant melanoma of the base of the tongue in a 65-year-old Japanese woman is described. The primary and metastatic tumors were treated by surgery, chemohormone and immunotherapy. There was no recurrence for 5 years after the initial diagnosis. Electron microscopy suggested that the melanosomes of the melanoma cells in the cervical lymph nodes were less mature than those in the primary melanoma cells; melanosome immaturity was consistent with a more aggressive quality.
Misawa
H
H
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan. hayatom@tsuru.med.nagoya-u.ac.jp
Yanagita
N
N
Iwagaki
T
T
Asahi
Y
Y
Yokoi
H
H
Kato
K
K
Qian
B
B
Shamoto
M
M
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery