A Operated Case of Primary Melanoma of the Esophagus / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Malignant melanoma is a malignant neoplasm originated from melanocyte. Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus is a very rare disease comprising 0.1% of all primary neoplasms of the esophagus. As with other primary mucosal malignant melanoma, primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus has poor prognosis because of the tendency to present as an advanced neoplasm with aggressive biological behavior. We present an operated case of primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus confirmed by the adjacent squamous mucosa contained junctional nests of tumor cells showing focal pagetoid spread consistent with melanoma in situ, with a clinicopoathological review of the literatures.