Chemohormonal therapy for malignant melanomas of the nasal and paranasal mucosa.

We present three cases of primary malignant melanoma of the nasal or paranasal mucosa that were successfully treated by chemohormonal therapy using tamoxifen (TAM), an anti-estrogen agent. All of the patients showed good responses. TAM is widely known to be an anti-estrogen chemotherapeutic agent in the treatment of breast cancer and is thought to exert its anti-neoplastic effect in breast cancer tissues by competing with estrogen for estrogen receptors. The mechanism of the effect of TAM in malignant melanoma is not yet known. Although its anti-neoplastic mechanism requires further exploration, we believe that chemohormonal therapy may become important in multidisciplinary treatment of malignant melanoma of the nasal and paranasal mucosa.