A Case of Colonic Metastatic Malignant Melanoma of Unknown Origin / 대한소화기내시경학회지

ABSTRACT

A metastatic melanoma to the gastrointestinal tract is observed in 1.5~4.4% of all melanoma patients. However, colonic and rectal involvement is less common. A 72-year-old woman was admitted due to abdominal pain and poor oral intake for 20 days. She had a 3 x 4 cm-sized mass on her right inguinal area 4 month ago, which was diagnosed as a malignant melanoma of the inguinal lymph node on excision biopsy. A large exophytic mass with an irregular ulcerlated, whitish patch, erythematous surface was observed in the hepatic flexure during colonoscopy. A histology diagnosis of a metastatic melanoma was made by an optical microscopy examination of the biopsies obtained during the colonscopy, and palliative right hemicolectomy was performed on account of a potential intestinal obstruction. We report a case of a metastatic melanoma of the colon with a review of the relevant literature.