title: Mucosal melanomas: a case-based review of the literature.
abstract: Mucosal melanoma is a rare cancer that is clearly distinct from its cutaneous counterpart in biology, clinical course, and prognosis. Recent studies have shown important differences in the frequencies of various genetic alterations in different subtypes of melanoma. Activating mutations in the c-KIT gene are detected in a significant number of patients with mucosal melanoma. This observation has resulted in the initiation of several clinical trials aimed at exploring the role of receptor tyrosine kinases that inhibit c-KIT in this patient population. We herein present a comprehensive literature review of mucosal melanoma along with case vignettes of a number of pertinent cases. We further discuss melanomas of the head and neck, the female genital tract, and the anorectum, which are the three most common sites of mucosal melanoma, with a particular focus on the diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic data available in the literature.
authors.affiliation: NYU Cancer Institute, 160E 34th Street, New York, New York 10016, USA. anna.pavlick@nyumc.org
authors.forename: Nagashree
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Seetharamu
authors.forename: Patrick A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Ott
authors.forename: Anna C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Pavlick
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000473:pathology*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy