Significance of early detection of oral malignant melanoma: Some reasonable facts

In literal terms, the melanoma is malignant tumors comprising of melanocytes in which cells are derived from the neural crest that basically constitute the melanin pigment in the basal and supra basal layers of the epithelium. The oral malignant melanoma (OMM) is seen with maxillary gingiva of males was previously considered as a fatal disease; however, in recent literature search illustrates the biological nature and behavior of the disease at the molecular levels. Even if these lesions are biologically aggressive, they often go unnoticed since, they are clinically a symptomatic in the early stages and usually present merely as a hyperpigmented patch on the gingival surface. These lesions if diagnosed at a nearly in situ stage are potentially curable and definitely have a better prognosis, but unfortunately as they are clinically asymptomatic, it results in delayed diagnosis thus making the prognosis extremely poor.