title: Clinicopathological Features and Prognosis of Sinonasal Mucosal Malignant Melanoma: A Retrospective Study of 83 Cases in a Chinese Population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sinonasal mucosal malignant melanoma (SNMMM) is a rare disease. The aim of the present study was to describe its clinicopathological features and prognosis in a Chinese population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data on 83 SNMMM patients were collected and analyzed. A survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and a log-rank test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most common presenting symptoms of SNMMM were nasal obstruction, epistaxis, and bloody rhinorrhea. Histopathologically, 38 cases (45.78%) were amelanotic. Five cell types (epithelioid, undifferentiated, plasmacytoid, spindle, and clear) were identified. Positive staining for human melanoma black-45 and Melan-A was diagnostic of SNMMM. Advanced age, multiple tumor sites, and amelanotic-type SNMMM indicated a worse outcome (p = 0.008, p = 0.009, and p = 0.013, respectively). Neither adjuvant therapy nor the tumor stage was associated with overall survival.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SNMMM is an uncommon disease with atypical symptoms. Its histopathological appearance is variable, especially in the amelanotic type. Thus, immunohistochemistry is important in the diagnosis, and it should be performed according to the histology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Eye and ENT Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Wenjia
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Bingqing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Shuyi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009669:Nose Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D010255:Paranasal Sinus Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism; D010256:Paranasal Sinuses / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends