What should you know about gum melanoma?

Melanoma develops from pigment-producing cells. In the mouth, it may appear as a brown, black, grey, or mixed-colour patch, nodule, or area of uneven pigmentation on the gum or another oral surface. It can be painless, which means appearance alone cannot confirm or exclude it. Many dark oral marks have non-cancerous explanations, including normal pigmentation, trauma, medication effects, or other lesions. Only an appropriate examination and biopsy can establish the diagnosis.

Book a prompt appointment with a dentist, oral medicine clinician, dermatologist, or doctor if a gum mark is new, enlarging, uneven, or different from nearby tissue. Do not scrape, bleach, or repeatedly injure it. The clinician may inspect the mouth, feel nearby tissues, photograph the area, and arrange a biopsy. If melanoma is confirmed, staging may guide options such as Surgical Excision, Skin Cancer Surgery, Tumour Removal Surgery, Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy, or Immunotherapy.

Seek prompt assessment for bleeding, ulceration, pain, swelling, loose teeth, a lump, numbness, difficulty chewing or swallowing, or a patch that changes. Urgent medical help is needed for significant bleeding, rapidly increasing swelling, or difficulty breathing. Confirmed melanoma requires specialist follow-up to check the original site and other areas when clinically indicated.

Ask whether a biopsy is needed, what the tissue report shows, whether scans or lymph-node assessment are appropriate, which specialist will coordinate care, how treatment may affect eating and speech, and how follow-up will be arranged.