Malignant melanoma of the nasal cavity in Ugandan Africans. Relationship of ectopic pigmentation.

Abstract

A study of pigmentation of the nasal cavity in Ugandan Africans together with four cases of primary malignant melanoma of the nose are presented. The findings suggest that 13.5% of Africans have discrete ectopic areas of visible pigment. Microscopically, this pigment exists in dendritic melanocytes in both stratified squamous and columnar epithelium. The authors postulate that these areas of potentially unstable pigment cells are the basis for the production of primary malignant melanoma in the nasal cavity and may explain the higher incidence in pigmented races, particularly indigenous Africans.