ORAL MELANOSIS: A RARE FINDING RELATED TO IMATINIB THERAPY

Abstract

Imatinib mesylate is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor and first-line therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Long-term side effects include mucosal or skin depigmentation, which is unusual, and hyperpigmentation is a paradoxical finding rarely described. This case reports a 63-year-old White woman referred to the Stomatology Department with an asymptomatic hyperpigmentation of the oral mucosa, particularly in the hard palate, associated with a 13-year history of imatinib therapy to treat CML. Clinical history did not reveal a history of smoking, alcohol, trauma, or any other abnormal pigmentation of the oral cavity and skin. The patient has hypertension with no known drug allergies, and her medication regimen is bisoprolol-hydrochlorothiazide, ramipril, and imatinib 400 mg/day. An incisional biopsy was performed, and the histopathology report showed melanin in the lamina propria consistent with melanosis. The lesion remains unchanged. The patient is still asymptomatic, and no active intervention was required.