title: Oral malignant melanoma: a review of the literature.
abstract: Primary oral melanoma (POM) is an uncommon malignant tumor that originates from the proliferation of melanocytes. Such tumors can be present at any location in the oral cavity; however, it affects more frequently the hard palate and the maxillary alveolar mucosa. POM is usually asymptomatic in the early stages and it presents normally as a pigmented patch or as a mass with a rapid growth rate. In the advanced stages, it can show ulceration, swelling, bleeding, rapid enlargement and loosening of teeth. Melanoma of the mouth is rare, most commonly occurring in the upper jaw of patients more than 65 years. Because of a frequent delay in diagnosis, the tumors are often diagnosed when they are deeper than the average cutaneous melanoma. The prognosis is extremely poor, especially in advanced stages. Therefore, pigmented lesions of undetermined origin should be routinely subjected to a biopsy examination. In this study, we aimed to present a review on primary malignancy.
authors.affiliation: Stomatology Clinic, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples 11, Naples, Italy. femiano@libero.it
authors.forename: Felice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Femiano
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lanza
authors.forename: Curzio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Buonaiuto
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gombos
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Di Spirito
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cirillo
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008544:Melanocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D021362:Palate, Hard / Q000473:pathology; D000516:alpha-Amylases
chemical_list: D000516:alpha-Amylases