Abstract
A 64-year-old female exhibiting a malignant melanoma of the nose received radiotherapy in 1979. In 1984, ileal metastasis occured and was resected. In 1992, pelvic bone metastasis was discovered and she received radiotherapy. In 1998, a recurrent tumor was discovered in the primary site (left nasal cavity).
In contrast to some reports that sinonasal malignant melanoma is resistant to radiotherapy, in this case, radiotherapy seems to have been effective. She received only radiotherapy and had distant metastasis, but her long-term survival rate was good. The prognosis of sinonasal malignant melanoma is very poor, but a few cases of prolonged survival have been reported. Malignant melanoma is divided into two types, fulminant and nonfulminant, and the latter has a good prognosis. In theory there should be immunological differences between them, but at present the differences have not been clearly identified.
