Metastatic melanoma of the nasal cavity in a patient with oculocutaneous albinism

Abstract

The nasal cavity is a rare location for primary malignant melanoma, borne out by the few cases reported in the literature since 1940. Rarest of all is nasal melanoma in a patient with oculocutaneous albinism. An albino subject, aged 33, was referred to us with this diagnosis. Because of the numerous metastases in the liver and left lung, we did not advise radical surgical intervention and, despite hyperfractionated high dose radiotherapy and chemo-immunotherapy, the advanced stage of disease caused the death of the patient within a year. We have reviewed the diagnostic, clinical and therapeutic aspects, and the literature on melanomas of the nasal cavity in albino subjects. We performed a Medline literature search, examining only ‘extensive’ papers and excluding abstracts or case reports presenting poor data.