Journal de pathologie clinique et expérimentale

Abstrait

Primary Oral Melanoma: A Case Report with Immunohistochemical Findings

Juliana de Souza do Nascimento, Adalberto Mosqueda Taylor, Oslei Paes de Almeida and Bruno Augusto Benevenuto de Andrade

Melanoma is a potentially aggressive and rare malign neoplasm of melanocytic origin. Only 1% occurs in oral mucosa, accounting for 0.5% of all oral malignancies being more aggressive when compared with the cutaneous counterpart. The tumor occurs more frequently in the hard palate and gingiva. Despite the advances in biological knowledge of melanoma, treatment and prognosis still have limitations, especially in head and neck melanomas, including oral melanomas. The aim of this study is to report a case of primary oral melanoma in a 54 year-old male patient. An asymptomatic pigmented lesion was located in the upper vestibular gingiva and an incisional biopsy was done. Cytomorphological findings revealed proliferation of pleomorphic epithelioid and plasmacytoid cells positive by immunohistochemistry for S-100 protein, HMB-45 and Melan-A, confirming the diagnostic of oral melanoma. This study showed the importance of the histopathological and immunohistochemical evaluation in order to determine the cytomorphologic aspects of oral melanoma to establish the final diagnosis.