Mucosal melanoma of the head and neck: radiotherapy or surgery?

Introduction: Head and neck mucosal melanoma (MuM) is rare, comprising < 1% of all melanomas in Western Europe.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of case records of patients treated between 1965 and 2001 was carried out. (Survival outcomes were obtained from the case notes and cancer registry.) The median age of the 68 patients was 63 years (range 29-86 years). Thirty-nine percent were male, and 61% were female. (The minimum follow-up time was 15 months.) The two most common primary sites were the sinonasal complex (65%) and oral cavity (19%). Twenty-one percent of patients presented with metastases (nodal or distant). Fifty-five patients were treated with curative intent: 30 patients with primary radiotherapy and 25 patients with surgery +/- postoperative radiotherapy.

Results: The overall survival was 22% at 5 years, and the cancer-specific survival was 32% at 5 years.

Conclusion: MuM has a poor overall prognosis. Poor prognostic indicators are site at presentation and presentation with metastasis. This series is unique in that a significant proportion of patients were given primary radiotherapy as definitive treatment. Surgery may have advantages, particularly for oral cavity MuM. In contrast to previous reports, definitive radiotherapy is worthy of consideration as curative treatment.