Mucosal melanomas: A review

Mucosal melanomas, far fewer in number than melanomas of the skim, manifest a far more aggressive and more rapid life-consuming biologic course. This behavior attends melanomas at any mucosal site, upper aerodigestive tracts, anorectum, and male and female genital tracts. Prognostic factors for both groups of melanoma are similar, but most mucosal melanomas have reached th e dangerous limits, e.g., depth of invasion or thickness of melanoma at the time of diagnosis. In genera, the mucosal melanomas are also more refracto ry to therapeutic modalities. Ln part, this may be due to anatomic restrict ions of site and the large size of tumor when first discovered. This review presents a contemporary assessment of melanomas at all of the major mucosa l sites.