Complete response of huge buccal malignant melanoma in an octogenarian patient to arterial chemotherapy
- Resource Type
- Academic Journal
- Authors
- Wu, Chih-Feng; Wu, Chieh-Shan; Yu, Wei-Wen; Huang, Ming-Yii
- Source
- Head & Neck. Oct 01, 2015 37(10):E134-E138
- Subject
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1043-3074
BACKGROUND.: Primary oral mucosal melanoma is uncommon. However, it is an aggressive entity, and the absence of a standardized treatment protocol makes for an extremely poor prognosis. METHODS.: We described the clinical course and treatment by arterial chemotherapy of an 87-year-old patient with nonresectable huge buccal malignant melanoma. Continuous intra-arterial infusion of fluorouracil (50 mg/24 hours) and 1 intermittent weekly 10-mg shot of cisplatin were given. RESULTS.: The patient with oral melanoma presented with a roughly 6- × 4-cm exophytic mass that was noticed on the right buccal mucosa. The buccal tumor regressed dramatically until complete disappearance of the tumor mass was achieved at 2.5 months after intra-arterial chemotherapy was initiated. In total, 2880 mg of fluorouracil and 80 mg of cisplatin were administrated. The side effects of intra-arterial chemotherapy were mild and tolerable. CONCLUSION.: Our data demonstrate that intra-arterial chemotherapy could be an alternative treatment for nonresectable buccal malignant melanoma.