OSTEOID AND BONE-FORMATION IN A NASAL MUCOSAL MELANOMA AND ITS METASTASIS

Aims: To present a literature review and a case history concerning bon e and osteoid formation by a metastasizing (mucosal) melanoma, Case de tails: Osteocartilaginous differentiation and production of osteocarti laginous structures in malignant melanoma have been described only in 12 previous cases (osteoid in 11, bone in four), all of which involved dermal melanomas, Five of these melanomas were recurrent and one was associated with neurofibromatosis, The case report concerns a 75-year- old man with a nasal mucosal melanoma which was treated surgically, On e year later, the patient developed a local recurrence and a cervical lymph node metastasis. Both the recurrent tumour and the metastasis sh owed clear evidence of bone and osteoid formation. Conclusions: This c ase is the first report in the literature, clearly demonstrating bone and osteoid formation by a mucosal melanoma, not only at the primary s ite, but even more convincingly in a cervical lymph node metastasis.