Mucosal melanomas of the head and neck

Introduction:

Mucosal melanomas (MM) represent a rare, but highly aggressive subtype of common melanoma (CM). Clinical, as well as molecular causes, which justify this aggressive phenotype are not sufficiently examined. The aim of this study is to use a large cohort of head and neck melanoma to develop clinical parameters for risk factors, metastatic behavior and prognosis.

Methods:

Between 2002 and 2013, 139 patients with head and neck melanoma (112 CM and 27 MM) were studied. Clinical parameters were retrospectively studied by an unpaired t-test. Overall and disease-free survival was studied in Kaplan-Meier curves and disease-influencing parameters were analyzed in a forward COX regression.

Results:

At the time of the first diagnosis, no differences in the loco regional metastasis rate was found in both patient groups (MM 7%, CM 13%, p = 0.4). Patients with MM developed significantly more frequent and earlier distant metastases (p = 0.001) and showed a significantly reduced recurrence-free survival (p = 0.001). After an average observation time of 89 months, a significant overall survival advantage of CM was evident (39 vs. 99 months, p = 0.001).

Conclusions:

Patients with MM have a significantly increased probability of developing distant metastases, whereas the loco regional metastatic rate is similar to CM. The disease-free survival as well as overall survival was significantly shorter.

Publication History

Publication Date:
18 April 2018 (online)