title: Parotid melanoma of unknown primary.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Rarely, melanoma is discovered in the parotid gland without an identifiable primary site. It is not known how patients with parotid melanoma of unknown primary (PMUP) compare to those with a known primary (PMKP). As such, we describe the largest series of patients with PMUP to date and compare them to patients with PMKP.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed cases from three sources: (1) the University Hospitals Case Medical Center pathology database (n = 45), (2) the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 18 database (n = 33), and (3) a comprehensive literature search (n = 32).
  
  
  RESULTS
  PMUP patients were predominately male and presented at a mean age of 56 years. When compared to PMKP, PMUP cases were more likely to be diagnosed in the parotid parenchyma, present with stage IV disease, and develop distant metastases during follow-up in a shorter amount of time. However, there was no difference in overall survival between patients with PMUP and PMKP presenting with stage-matched disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall survival is similar for stage-matched patients with parotid melanoma presenting with an unknown and known primary site.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Case Western Reserve University, and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Lakeside 3100 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA. jeffrey.scott@uhhospitals.org.
authors.forename: Jeffrey F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Case Western Reserve University, and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Cheryl L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Case Western Reserve University, and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Lakeside 3100 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Ritva
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vyas
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Case Western Reserve University, and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Lakeside 3100 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Kord
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Honda
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Case Western Reserve University, and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Chad
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zender
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Case Western Reserve University, and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Rod
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rezaee
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Case Western Reserve University, and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lavertu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koon
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Case Western Reserve University, and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Lakeside 3100 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Case Western Reserve University, and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Lakeside 3100 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Meg R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Gerstenblith
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000556:secondary*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009382:Neoplasms, Unknown Primary / Q000473:pathology*; D010307:Parotid Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary*
keywords: Head and neck melanoma; Melanoma; Melanoma of unknown primary; Parotid; Surveillance, Epidemiology, End results database