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Case Reports
. 2020 Jan 29;13(1):e232200.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2019-232200.

Primary malignant melanoma of the vagina

Emily Jamaer  1 , Zach Liang  2 , Brendan Stagg  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Primary malignant melanoma of the vagina

Emily Jamaer et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

Primary malignant melanoma of the vagina is a rare gynaecological neoplasm with an aggressive course of disease. Although not many cases have been reported in the literature, its manifestations appear to be fairly consistent. The challenge comes in knowing how to approach this cancer clinically, since information about its staging and treatment is limited. In this report, we present a case of an 84-year-old postmenopausal woman in whom a suspicious vaginal lesion was discovered incidentally during a procedure. Wide local excision was carried out at a later date and histopathology confirmed a malignant melanoma of the vagina contained locally with no radiological finding of distant metastases. No additional treatment was given, and three monthly follow-ups were arranged for this patient. We review the literature and briefly discuss the epidemiology, treatment approaches, prognostic factors and expected outcomes of this rare disease.

Keywords: cancer intervention; gynecological cancer; obstetrics, gynaecology and fertility; pathology.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Melanocytes within the basal layer of the squamous epithelium showing cytological atypia with nuclear enlargement, increased nuclear–cytoplasmic ratios, pleomorphism and prominent nucleoli.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cells in this slide have similar features to those found in figure 1, but with the brown pigment more conspicuous and the invasiveness more clearly seen.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The ulcerated, polypoid mass measuring 8.5 mm thick; only a small portion of the tumour is lined with squamous epithelium.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Atypical melanocytes with an epithelioid morphology identified in situ with rounded nuclei, open chromatin and prominent nucleoli.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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