Amelanotic melanoma of the tongue

Abstract

Malignant melanoma of the oral cavity is a rare lesion, with an incidence of about 0.2% to 0.8% of all melanomas. Melanoma of tongue is still rarer and represents less than 2% of oro-nasal melanoma cases. We report a rare case of amelanotic melanoma of the tongue in a young man. The importance of consideration of melanoma in the differential diagnosis of oral cavity lesions is discussed since mucosal melanoma carries a bad prognosis and early diagnosis is vital.