[Fourteen cases of mucosal melanomas of the oral cavity].

Fourteen cases of mucosal melanomas of the oral cavity were treated from January, 1970 to April, 1986 in our department. The patients were 10 males and 4 females and in their fifth and sixth decades with the primary sites in the upper gingiva and palates in the majority. The 3 and 5 year survival rates were 21.4% and 14.3% respectively, with unfavorable prognosis in comparison with cutaneous melanoma. The clinical stages were as follows: stage Ia (1), Ib (8), II (5), which affected the prognosis. The depth of invasion, as described by Breslow et al., were beyond 1.50 mm except in one case, which might be a significant prognostic factor in the study of mucosal melanoma of the oral cavity. Seventy one percent had neck node metastases and 35% had distant metastases. The high occurrence of metastases might be related to their poor prognosis.