EXTENSIVE MELANOMA IN THE PALATE: A CASE REPORT

A 63-year-old leucoderm man sought the dentistry service with a pigmented irregular lesion measuring approximately 4 × 4 cm in hard and soft palate and alveolar bone without symptoms . This lesion presented ABCDE signs of melanoma. The patient has diabetes mellitus type 2 and is an ex-smoker. The last dentistry visit was 40 years ago. The clinical hypothesis was oral melanoma, so a partial biopsy was performed in an anterior board site. Histopathologic diagnosis suggested malignant melanotic lesion, and immunohistochemistry analysis showed that the lesion was HMB45, KI-67, Melan A, and S100 positive, confirming oral melanoma diagnosis. Next, the patient was referred to head and neck surgery service. A palate device was performed after maxillectomy and partial pharyngectomy surgery to improve quality of life. The patient remains under clinical followed by the surgery service. Oral melanoma is most commonly on the palate and has approximate 20% survival rate over 5 years.