Symptoms of oral malignant melanoma
Oral malignant melanoma is very rare, and it is seen after the age of 40 years. They are asymptomatic until there is a significant growth of the tumor mass, which starts causing problems. Oral amelanotic melanomas account for 30 to 35% of the total cases of oral melanomas. The color of the amelanotic melanoma can be the same color as the surrounding mucosa. It can also be white or red while.
On the other hand, the melanin-producing melanomas are brown to black or blue. The lesion may be nodular, macular, or pedunculated. The lesion may develop in the palate, on the gingiva, or the tongue. The primary lesion can metastasize to the tongue, the mandible, and the buccal mucosa. In the late stages, the tumor can undergo ulceration, bleeding, and may also have satellite lesions. The lymph nodes of the neck are also involved in the late stage of the disease, causing multiple swellings in the neck.
Diagnosis of melanoma should be made by biopsy, and the prognosis depends on the extent of melanoma and whether or not it is spread in other tissues. Thicker melanomas are also indicative of poor prognosis. Treatment of early-stage melanoma is surgical, but advanced stage melanoma is treated with invasive medical and surgical therapies.