Multiple primary malignant melanomas of the oral cavity

Malignant melanoma comprises 2% of all the cancers (Waldron, 1970) and the lesion is very rare in the oral cavity (Jackson and Simpson, 1975), and constitutes only 7% of the total head and neck melanomas. Chaudhari et al (1958) were able to trace out 105 cases of oral melanoma in their exhaustive survey of the literature, but they did not mention the occurrence of multiple lesions in the oral cavity. In 1975, Liversedge collected 65 cases from the literature after Chaudhuri’s classic review, who again did not report the incidence of multiple lesions. These reviews show that primary malignant melanoma at multiple sites in the oral cavity is extremely rare. The multiplicity of the lesion and unusual presentation of an oral melanoma make the present case clinically interesting.