A Systematic Review of Primary Temporal Bone Mucosal Melanoma

Objective Temporal bone mucosal melanomas (MMs) are rare, and patients may experience delays in diagnosis and treatment. Our objective was to better characterize the presentation, diagnosis, treatment modalities, and outcomes of this process. Data Sources PubMed/Medline, CINAHL (EBSCOhost), and Web of Science databases were searched in all languages without restriction of publication dates. Study Selection Inclusion criteria included that the article was either a case report or a case series with individual case data. All non-English articles were excluded if the corresponding abstract lacked data on demographics, initial presentation, and clinical management. Data Extraction After full-text analysis, data pertaining to demographics, diagnosis, medical and surgical management modalities, and outcomes were extracted. Data Synthesis Data were qualitatively synthesized, and means and averages were obtained for all continuous variables. Overall survival was measured by the Kaplan-Meier method, and significance was measured through log-rank testing. Conclusions Clinicians should suspect temporal bone MM in the differential diagnosis of patients with bloody otorrhea in the context of a chronic serous otitis media or an associated cranial nerve palsy. If suspected, physicians should not delay the acquisition of a biopsy or imaging studies. Management is highly variable and must be decided on a case-by-case basis. Outcomes remain poor because of the high propensity for MM to metastasize.