Primary Pleural Malignant Melanoma With Rapid Progression

Primary Pleural Melanoma: A Case Report and Literature Review

Primary pleural melanoma is an extremely rare neoplasm, and to the best of our knowledge, there have been only 8 case reports of this condition in the English literature. We herein report a rare case in which the cytological and immunocytochemical analyses of pleural fluid and ultrasonography (US)-guided biopsy of a pleural lesion were useful for the diagnosis primary pleural melanoma. This case highlights the importance of careful physical examinations, cytomorphologic and immunocytochemical analyses of pleural fluid, as well as the utility of US-guided biopsy of the pleural lesions in the diagnosis of primary pleural melanoma.

Primary Malignant Melanoma of Pleura: A Case Report and Literature Review

Malignant melanoma is one of the most aggressive and treatment resistant skin cancers. India enjoys a low incidence of melanoma, and age specific incidence rates for cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) are being less than 0.5 per 1,000,000. This could be due to under-reporting of melanoma on account of a low index of suspicion by clinicians and pathologists alike. Most common site for origin of primary melanoma is skin, accounting for about 91.2% of all reported primary malignant melanoma cases. Other primary sites are relatively uncommon. Primary pleural melanoma is a very rare tumor and to the best of our knowledge, only seven cases have been reported so far worldwide. We hereby discuss a new case, only second from India. Our patient also had coexistent congenital hairy nevus, an unusual association also noted in two previously reported cases. Excluding primary cutaneous melanoma with pleural metastasis was a diagnostic challenge in this case but multiple cutaneous biopsies together with clinical and findings helped us arrive at this unusual diagnosis. Unfortunately, the patient succumbed to his illness. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2016;44:648-652. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.