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Case Reports
. 2006 Jul 21;12(27):4425-7.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i27.4425.

Primary gastric melanoma: a case report

Emmanuel-Eustathios Lagoudianakis  1 , Michael Genetzakis, Dimitrios-Konstantinos Tsekouras, Artemisia Papadima, Georgia Kafiri, Konstantinos Toutouzas, Vaggelogiannis Katergiannakis, Andreas Manouras
Affiliations
Case Reports

Primary gastric melanoma: a case report

Emmanuel-Eustathios Lagoudianakis et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Melanoma accounts for 1-3 per cent of all malignant tumors. Except cutaneous, other less common melanomas include, among others, those in the GI tract. However, their primary or secondary nature is often difficult to establish. Referring to the stomach, scattered cases of primary melanomas have been reported in the literature. We report a case of a man with an ulcerated sub-mucosal mass at the antrum of the stomach, manifested with dull upper abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue and anemia. This lesion was histologically proved to be melanoma. A detailed clinical and laboratory investigation revealed no primary site elsewhere. To our knowledge, very few cases of primary gastric melanoma have been reported. Our case is the fourth ever published and the first located at the antrum of the stomach. The debate upon the primitive nature of such lesions still persists. Thus, specific diagnostic criteria have been proposed.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Primary malignant melanoma of the stomach. Gastric mucosa also viewed (HE, × 40).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Surgical specimen of a subtotal gastrectomy and splenectomy for a primary melanoma located at the antrum of the stomach. Certain deposits of malignant melanocytes are viewed in the co-excised greater omentum.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Primary gastric melanoma stained with Masson-Fontana. Plenty of granules of melanin are viewed (× 100).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Primary gastric melanoma stained with HMB-45 (× 100).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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