Radiotherapy in the treatment of mucosal melanoma of the upper aerodigestive tract: Analysis of 74 cases. A Rare Cancer Network study

Krengli, Marco; Masini, Laura; Kaanders, Johannes H.A.M.; Maingon, Philippe; Oei, Swan Bing; Zouhair, Abderrahim; Ozyar, Enis; Roelandts, Martine; Amichetti, Maurizio; Bosset, Mathieu; Mirimanoff, René-Olivier

doi:10.1016/j.ijrobp.2006.01.016

« Previous Next »International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics
Volume 65, Issue 3 , Pages 751-759, 1 July 2006

Radiotherapy in the treatment of mucosal melanoma of the upper aerodigestive tract: Analysis of 74 cases. A Rare Cancer Network study

Presented at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO), Amsterdam, The Netherlands, October 24–28, 2004.

Marco Krengli, M.D.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
- Reprint requests to: Marco Krengli, M.D., Division of Radiotherapy, University of Piemonte Orientale–Hospital Maggiore della Carità, Corso Mazzini 18, Novara 28100, Italy. Tel: (+39) 0321-3733424; Fax: (+39) 0321-3733698
Laura Masini, M.D.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
Johannes H.A.M. Kaanders, M.D.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Philippe Maingon, M.D.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre G. F. Leclerc, Dijon, France
Swan Bing Oei, M.D.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Dr. Bernard Verbeeten Instituut, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Abderrahim Zouhair, M.D.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland
Enis Ozyar, M.D.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Hacettepe University Medical School, Ankara, Turkey
Martine Roelandts, M.D.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Institut Jules Bordet, Bruxelles, Belgium
Maurizio Amichetti, M.D.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Ospedale Oncologico “A. Businco,” Cagliari, Italy
Mathieu Bosset, M.D.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Besançon, Besançon, France
René-Olivier Mirimanoff, M.D.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland

Received 8 November 2005; received in revised form 23 December 2005; accepted 6 January 2006. published online 27 April 2006.

Purpose: To retrospectively analyze a series of mucosal melanoma of the upper aerodigestive tract to determine the prognostic factors and contribute to understanding the role of radiotherapy in the therapeutic strategy.

Methods and Materials: Seventy-four patients were analyzed. The most frequent locations were nasal and oral, in 31 patients (41.9%) and 12 patients (16.2%), respectively. Sixty-three patients (85.1%) were in Stage I, 5 (6.8%) in Stage II, and 6 (8.1%) in Stage III. Treatment consisted of surgery in 17 patients (23.0%), surgery and radiotherapy in 42 (56.8%), radiotherapy in 11 (14.9%), and chemo-immunotherapy in 4 (5.4%). Median follow-up was 20 months.

Results: Local control at 3 years was 57% after surgery alone and 71% after surgery and radiotherapy. Overall and disease-free survival rates, respectively, were 41% and 31% at 3 years and 14% and 22% at 10 years. After univariate analysis, female gender, melanosis, tumor size ≤3 cm, Stage I, postoperative radiotherapy, and complete remission were favorable prognostic factors. Stage I and melanosis were confirmed by multivariate analysis.

Conclusions: Local control was improved by postoperative radiotherapy, despite survival being as poor as in other published series. Stage I and melanosis at diagnosis were the most favorable prognostic factors.

Keywords: Mucosal melanoma , Upper aerodigestive tract , Radiotherapy , Prognostic factors