Topical imiquimod: effectiveness in intraepithelial melanoma of oral mucosa

摘要

A 67-year-old woman had a 2-year history of in-loco recurrences of an oral mucosal melanoma. The primary melanoma, presenting as an amelanotic ulcerated tumour on the left-hand-side hard palate (figure 1A), was treated by partial maxillectomy in November, 2002. Because multidirectional drainage was identified by lympho-scintigraphy, six lymph nodes were removed in the same session without any evidence of lymphatic spread. Before surgery, administration of two cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, with 150 mg/m~2 cisplatin through the left maxillary artery, and simultaneous intravenous infusion of 9 g/m~2 of its antagonist, thiosulfate, lead to a reduction in tumour size of more than 50%, assessed by clinical observation and palpation.