Vol.97 No.10 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 97 No.10 October 2004
Results of Treatment of Mucosal Malignant
Melanoma in the Head and Neck
Shuichiro Hayashi, Kazuhiko Takeuchi, Sinya Suzuki,
Alok Bhandari and Yuichi Majima
(Mie University School of Medicine)
Twelve patients with mucosal melanoma of the head and neck were treated in our department between 1984 and 2003. The patient population included five men and seven women, aged 45 to 88 years (mean: 63 years). In six cases, the tumors were localized to the nasal cavity and the paranasal sinuses, in four to the oral cavity, in one to the lacrimal sac, and in one case the primary tumor was unknown.
They were treated with or without multimodal surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and immunotherapy. The 5-year survival rate of all patients was 50％. The survival rates of the patients treated with or without radical surgery showed no difference. However, one patient treated with radical surgery lived for a long term (over 12 years). All patients treated without radical surgery showed local recurrence. The effectiveness of radiation, hormonal therapy and immunotherapy in our patients was not observed.
Key words : malignant melanoma, head and neck, therapy