Neurotropic melanoma of the head and neck with clinical perineural invasion.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this article is to report our experience with neurotropic melanoma, a rare malignancy that sometimes produces neurologic symptoms because of a direct extension of the primary tumor.


METHODS
We report 3 consecutive patients with neurotropic melanoma of the head and neck who presented with clinical perineural invasion.


RESULTS
Two patients had incompletely resectable tumors and were treated with definitive radiotherapy (RT), and 1 patient received surgery and postoperative RT. One patient experienced recurrence in a regional lymph node 30 months after RT and underwent salvage surgery; he is disease-free at 45 months after initial treatment. The remaining 2 patients are disease-free 34 months and 14 months after treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Radiotherapy alone or combined with surgery may provide relatively long-term local control in patients who have neurotropic melanoma with clinical perineural invasion.
Newlin
Heather E
HE
Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
Morris
Christopher G
CG
Amdur
Robert J
RJ
Mendenhall
William M
WM
D000328:Adult; D020295:Brain Stem Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D010524:Peripheral Nervous System Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D016879:Salvage Therapy