Vol.97 No.4 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 97 No. 4 April 2004
A Case Report of Primary Malignant Melanoma
of the Nasopharynx
Nobuhiko Waka, Hiroshi Iwai and Eiko Kawasaki
(Rakusai Newtown Hospital, Kansai Medical University)
Tadashi Doi
(Rakusai Newtown Hospital, Kansai Medical University)
Susumu Baba, Kaori Nakae and Toshio Yamashita
(Kansai Medical University)
Primary malignant melanoma of the nasopharynx is a rare disease with poor prognosis. There has been no established treatment for the disease.
We report herein a case of a 75-year old man, who was referred with hearing impairment and nasal obstruction. Clinical examination demonstrated left middle ear effusion and nasopharyngeal mass. The histological examination indicated malignant melanoma. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a gadolinium-enhanced mass on the left side of nasopharynx. Imaging studies could not detect distant metastasis. The patient received combined chemotherapy with DAV treatment (DTIC＋ACNU＋VCR), but there was no response. Intratumoral administration of Interferon-beta inhibited tumor growth and X-knife was also effective in significantly decreasing tumor size. These therapies may be helpful in the local treatment of malignant melanoma, thus improving the patient's quality of life.
Key words : malignant melanoma, nasopharynx, interferon, X-knife