Abstract
An oral malignant melanoma appears to have an extremely poor prognosis, and the five-year survival rate has been reported to be about 17% in Japan. The response rate belongs to the worst group in malignant tumors. Previous studies have shown that the combination chemotherapy of dacarbazine (DTIC), cisplatin (CDDP), nimustine (ACNU), and Tamoxifen, an anti-estrogen agent, produced a more than 50% overall response rate in patients. We present a case of malignant melanoma of the palate that had been treated with 4 courses of the combination of DTIC, ACNU, vincristine, and interferon-β, although the tumor has increased progressively to the skull base in the patient. It was thought that the tumor was becoming resistant to the chemoimmunotherapy.
Therefore, targeting the intra-arterial infusion of DTIC and CDDP with ACNU, Tamoxifen chemotherapy with high-dose administration of interferon- β was carried out. As a result, PR was obtained with 2 courses of the above regimen. We believe that the regimen for malignant melanoma may be useful in oral lesions combined with either radiotherapy or surgery.
