Abstract
Background: Malignant melanomas of the oral cavity are rare tumours. The diagnosis of mucosal melanoma can be difficult especially when it presents itself in its amelanotic form.
 Methodology: An electronic search was carried out on Pubmed and Medline database to find studies addressing this question published between Jan 2001 and April 2020. Multiple studies are done to determine the staining and positivity of the above mentioned three markers were found. A total of 4 studies were finally selected for this review which tried to determine the efficiency of these three markers in the diagnosis of oral mucosal melanomas.
 Results: The patient’s data that stained positive S100, HMB45 and Melan A from 4 studies were selected. 
 Conclusion: S100 continues to remain the most sensitive marker for melanoma with its promising ability in diagnosing the desmoplastic variant. The lack of specificity is still a drawback of S100.
Highlights
Malignant melanomas of the oral cavity are rare (0.2-8%) tumours
HMB45, S100 and Melan A are the most frequently used markers directed against melanocytic differentiation antigens that can help in the diagnosis of melanomas [2]
The present systematic review is aimed at compiling the data and results of studies that have analysed and determined the extent and magnitude of positivity of S100, HMB45 and Melan A in oral melanomas and to determine the overall efficacy of these three immunohistochemical markers in the diagnosis oral mucosal melanomas [11,12,13,14,15,16,17]
Summary
The diagnosis of mucosal melanoma can be difficult especially when it presents itself in its amelanotic form [1] Such malignancies mimic various other soft tissue tumours leading to further confusion rendering regular light microscopy inadequate for diagnosis. HMB45, S100 and Melan A are the most frequently used markers directed against melanocytic differentiation antigens that can help in the diagnosis of melanomas [2]. The present systematic review is aimed at compiling the data and results of studies that have analysed and determined the extent and magnitude of positivity of S100, HMB45 and Melan A in oral melanomas and to determine the overall efficacy of these three immunohistochemical markers in the diagnosis oral mucosal melanomas [11,12,13,14,15,16,17]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
