LAUSR

OBJECTIVES To assess potential association between oral nevi (ON) and nevus-associated melanoma (NAM), in which melanoma cells coexist with nevus cells. METHODS A total of 74 ON patients and 7 NAM patients were retrospectively reviewed. Comparative and regression analyses of clinical and histologic data were performed between two groups. RESULTS The mean age of the patients with ON was 36.5 years compared with that of 54.7 years of the patients with NAM (P=0.008). Gender ratio was female predominance for ON (1.64:1 ratio) and male predominance for NAM (6:1 ratio). The most common location of ON and NAM was the palate (31.1%) and gingiva (71.4%), respectively. Univariate regression analysis revealed that elderly male patients (≥60 years) with junctional ON located on the gingiva correlate with higher risk of melanoma. Multivariate analysis revealed that junctional type of ON was an independent factor (adjusted OR, 38.32; 95% CI, 3.20-458.64; P=0.004) associated significantly with increased risk for melanoma. CONCLUSIONS The preliminary study for the first time elucidated the clinicopathologic features of a Chinese series of ON, and evaluated the potential association between ON and NAM with a limited sample size. Further large muticentre studies are needed to confirm the findings.