A Review of the Aetiopathogenesis and Clinical and Histopathological Features of Oral Mucosal Melanoma

Table 1

Differential diagnoses of mucosal melanoma [1, 6, 8].

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(1) Oral mucosal melanin hyperpigmentation

 (i) Physiological (racial)

 (ii) Melanotic maculae

 (iii) Melanoacanthoma

 (iv) Melanotic nevus

 (v) Tobacco-induced

 (vi) Drug-induced

 (vii) Inflammation related

 (viii) Associated with syndromes or systemic disease (Peutz-Jegher syndrome, McCune-Albright syndrome, Laugier-Hunziker syndrome,
    Addison disease, neurofibromatosis)

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(2) Angioproliferative disorders

 (i) Haemangioma

 (ii) Vascular malformations

 (iii) Kaposi sarcoma

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(3) Extrinsic pigment

 (i) Amalgam tattoo

 (ii) Recreational tattoo

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(4) Benign inflammatory, reactive, neoplastic growths that should be differentiated from amelanotic melanoma

 (i) Pyogenic granuloma

 (ii) Fibrous hyperplasia

 (iii) Peripheral giant cell granuloma

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