Malignant Melanoma of the Vagina: A Report of 2 Cases / 대한방사선종양학회지

ABSTRACT

Primary malignant melanoma of the vagina is an extremely rare genital neoplasm occurring mainly in postmenopausal women. It has a worse prognosis than cutaneous melanomas, because of the high rate of loco- regional recurrences and rapid systemic dissemination. In the past, radical surgical extirpation as the primary management had been recommended to improve loco-regional control, and possibly overall survival. However, the prognosis was poor in spite of such a radical approache. Recently, more conservative treatment such as wide local excision combined with adjuvant high-dose fraction radiotherapy seems to have promising results. Primary radiation therapy could be served as an alternative to surgery for patients with lesion less than 3 cm in diameter. We report 2 cases of primary vaginal malignant melanoma treated with radiotherapy.