A Case of Primary Malignant Melanoma in the Mediastinum.

Koo, Bon Sam; Jung, Yong Seok; Park, Hee Bag; Ok, Cheol Ho; Jang, Tae Won; Jung, Man Hong; Lee, Jae Sung; Chun, Bong Kwon

doi:1999.46.3.409

Tuberc Respir Dis > Volume 46(3); 1999 > Article

Case Report

Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 1999;46(3):409-413.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4046/trd.1999.46.3.409 Published online March 1, 1999.

A Case of Primary Malignant Melanoma in the Mediastinum.

Bon Sam Koo, Yong Seok Jung, Hee Bag Park, Cheol Ho Ok, Tae Won Jang, Man Hong Jung, Jae Sung Lee, Bong Kwon Chun

¹Department of Internal Medicine, Kosin Medical College, Pusan, Korea.
²Department of Thoracic Surgery, Kosin Medical College, Pusan, Korea.
³Department of Pathology, Kosin Medical College, Pusan, Korea.

Abstract

Malignant melanoma develops from the melanocyte and the most common primary site is skin, followed by mucosa and retina. Even though any other tissue where melanocytes reside could be the primary site of the malignant melanoma, the one developed in the mediastinum is rarely reported. We experienced a patients of 54 years old woman whose initial symptom was progressive dyspnea for one month, and proved to have the anterior mediastinal mass with pleural effusion and the small mass in the abdominal soft tissue. The needle aspiration biopsy from the mediastinal mass showed the consistent findings with malignant melanoma. We concluded the mediastinum was the primary site of the malignant melanoma of this patient because we couldn't find any other evidence of primary tumor in skin, oral and gastrointestinal mucosa, and retina. She has been treated with combined chemotherapy with dacarbazine, cisplatin and vinblastine. Her symptom was improved after chemotherapy and follow up chest CT after three cycles of chemotherapy showed the decreased tumor size in the mediastinum.

Key Words: Malignant melanoma, mediastinum