Primary oral and sinonasal mucosal melanomas in Latin America: a systematic review

• Published in: International journal of oral and maxillofacial surgery Vol. 53; no. 6; pp. 449 - 460
• Main Authors: Maldonado-Mendoza, J., Ramírez-Amador, V., Anaya-Saavedra, G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Denmark Elsevier Inc 01-06-2024
• Subjects: Female; Head and neck neoplasms; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Latin America; Latin America - epidemiology; Male; Melanoma; Melanoma - pathology; Melanoma - therapy; Mouth Mucosa - pathology; Mouth Neoplasms - epidemiology; Mouth Neoplasms - pathology; Mouth Neoplasms - therapy; Nasal mucosa; Nasal Mucosa - pathology; Oral mucosa; Paranasal Sinus Neoplasms - epidemiology; Paranasal Sinus Neoplasms - pathology; Paranasal Sinus Neoplasms - therapy; Latin America; Head and neck neoplasms; Nasal mucosa; Melanoma; Oral mucosa; Latin America
• ISSN: 0901-5027; 1399-0020
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijom.2023.11.002

Primary oral and sinonasal mucosal melanomas (POSNMMs) are aggressive neoplasms with limited therapeutic alternatives. The aim of this review was to characterize the demographic, clinical, immunohistochemical, and molecular information regarding these tumors in the Latin American population. Articles published in English, Spanish, or Portuguese (1990–2022) retrieved from the PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, CAS, Web of Science, EBSCO, and Google Academic databases were included. Thirty-three studies, with a total of 1212 cases, were identified. Clinicopathological data were available for 870 cases and immunohistochemical and/or molecular information for 342. Nineteen studies (57.6%) reported cases of oral melanoma, three (9.1%) sinonasal melanoma, and 11 (33.3%) oral and sinonasal melanoma. Fifteen studies (45.5%) provided only clinicopathological data, 12 (36.4%) reported only immunohistochemical data, two (6.1%) shared clinicopathological and immunohistochemical data, one (3.0%) offered clinicopathological, immunohistochemical, and molecular data, one (3.0%) provided immunohistochemical and molecular data, one (3.0%) clinicopathological and molecular data, and one (3.0%) only molecular data. The mean age of individuals with POSNMMs was 58 years, and slightly more were male (male 51.3%, female 48.7%). In Latin America, POSNMMs are a rare but aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis and limited treatment options. Although molecular data and targeted therapy are still being researched, data from Latin America indicate the need for multicenter collaborative clinical trials to unite individual and isolated efforts.