Primary malignant melanoma of the lung: a case report of a rare tumor and review of the literature

• Published in: Journal of community hospital internal medicine perspectives Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 29 - 31
• Main Authors: Yunce, Muharrem, Selinger, Stephen, Krimsky, William, Harley, Daniel P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Greater Baltimore Medical Center 01-01-2018; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Body weight loss; Bronchoscopy; Case Report; Case reports; Chemotherapy; Computed tomography; Cough; Dosage; Esophagus; Exploration; Family medical history; Genetics; Literature reviews; lung; Lung cancer; Lungs; Lymph nodes; Malignancy; Medical imaging; Medical prognosis; Melanoma; Metastasis; Mucosa; Ostomy; Pathology; Patients; Pneumonia; Positron emission; Positron emission tomography; primary; Skin cancer; Surgery; Thorax; Tumors; Ultrasonic imaging; Ultrasound; Weight loss; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; lung; Melanoma; primary
• ISSN: 2000-9666; 2000-9666
• DOI: 10.1080/20009666.2018.1424485

Primary malignant melanoma of the lung (PMML) is a rare malignancy that exhibits aggressive behavior and has a very poor prognosis. We are reporting on a case of PMML in an otherwise healthy 22-year-old Caucasian male with no significant past medical history and an unremarkable family history. The patient initially presented with a 2-month history of a cough and an unexplained 22-lb weight loss. His initial chest X-ray demonstrated opacification of the right lower lobe (RLL) of his lung and a subsequent computerized tomography scan (CT scan) of his lung revealed a large mass occupying most of his RLL (Figure 1). The patient subsequently underwent a bronchoscopy with endobronchial ultrasound. Biopsies revealed a poorly differentiated carcinoma. A positron emission tomography with low dose CT scan was performed per protocol and revealed an intensely hypermetabolic tumor with no evidence for lymphatic disease or extra-thoracic spread. The patient underwent a surgical exploration and a right lower lobectomy with a thoracic lymphadenectomy. The pathology including immunohistochemical stains demonstrated a malignant melanoma with no lymph node involvement. A physical examination including ophthalmic, mucosal, and skin examinations revealed no evidence for an extra-thoracic site of the disease. The patient had negative margins for resection and did not receive any adjuvant therapy and is alive and well with no evidence for recurrence 3 years after the resection.