Review Article
A Review of the Aetiopathogenesis and Clinical and Histopathological Features of Oral Mucosal Melanoma
Table 2
American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM staging of mucosal melanoma [
1ā
3,
35].
| T: primary tumour | N: regional lymph node | M: distant metastasis |
| T3: mucosal disease | NX: regional lymph nodes that cannot be assessed | MO: no distant metastasis |
| T4a: moderately advanced disease involving deep soft tissues, bone, and overlying skin | NO: no regional lymph node metastasis | M1: distant metastasis present |
| T4b: very advanced disease involving brain, dura, skull base, lower cranial nerves (IX, X, XI, and XII), masticator space, paravertebral space, or mediastinal structures | N1: regional lymph node metastasis present | ā |
| Different clinical stages of oral mucosal melanoma |
| Stage | T | N | M |
| Stage III | T3 | NO | MO |
| Stage IVa | T4a | NO | MO | or T3-T4a | N1 | MO |
| Stage IVb | T4 | Any N | MO |
| Stage IVc | Any T | Any N | M1 |
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