Osteoid and bone formation in a nasal mucosal melanoma and its metastasis.

AIMS: To present a literature review and a case history concerning bone and osteoid formation by a metastasizing (mucosal) melanoma. CASE DETAILS: Osteocartilaginous differentiation and production of osteocartilaginous structures in malignant melanoma have been described only in 12 previous cases (osteoid in 11. bone in four), all of which involved dermal melanomas. Five of these melanomas were recurrent and one was associated with neurofibromatosis. The case report concerns a 75-year-old man with a nasal mucosal melanoma which was treated surgically. One year later, the patient developed a local recurrence and a cervical lymph node metastasis. Both the recurrent tumour and the metastasis showed clear evidence of bone and osteoid formation.
CONCLUSIONS: This case is the first report in the literature, clearly demonstrating bone and osteoid formation by a mucosal melanoma, not only at the primary site, but even more convincingly in a cervical lymph node metastasis.