Case report and literature review of primary malignant melanoma of the epiglottis

Primary malignant melanoma of the epiglottis(EMM) is a rare malignant tumor that belongs to the category of mucosal malignant melanoma of the head and neck(HNMM). It is prone to recurrence and metastasis, has a high death rate, and a poor prognosis. In this paper, we report a case of EMM with cervical lymph node metastasis. The treatment protocol involved partial laryngectomy combined with functional neck lymph node dissection, followed by postoperative chemoradiotherapy. Within less than one year after surgery, the patient appear local recurrence and distant metastases. This case highlights key characteristics of EMM: insidious onset with nonspecific symptoms that cause delayed diagnosis, high invasiveness with early lymph node involvement and rapid distant metastases, and increased risk of misdiagnosis of amelanotic variants, which emphasizing the need for more prospective/large retrospective studies to optimize EMM treatment and improve prognosis.