title: Malignant melanoma of the head and neck: a multi-institutional retrospective analysis of cases in northern Japan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mucosal melanoma of the head and neck is rare and is associated with a poor prognoses because of locoregional failure and distant metastasis. The aim of our study was to review the characteristics of these patients in northern Japan and to analyze their outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  The medical records of 94 patients who had been provided initial treatment in 12 institutes from 1998 to 2007 were reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  When the 5-year overall survival rates of patients were evaluated, we found that the survival rates of patients treated by chemotherapy were significantly lower than those of patients treated by surgery or radiation. The survival rates of the single-treatment modality, 2-modality, and ≥3-modality groups were 23.4%, 38.0%, and 33.6%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that patients who underwent combined treatment had better prognoses. However, we found that chemotherapy had no additional survival benefits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, 980-8574 Japan. kshiga44@hotmail.co.jp
authors.forename: Kiyoto
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shiga
authors.forename: Takenori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Toshimitsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Seigo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nanba
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kuwashima
authors.forename: Yukinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Asada
authors.forename: Seigo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Tatsumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagahashi
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Yasuaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Harabuchi
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Himi
authors.forename: Hideichi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sinkawa
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saijo
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: Katsuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Omori
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aoyagi
authors.forename: Sho
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy*; D015996:Survival Rate