J Gynecol Oncol.  2010 Sep;21(3):199-202. 10.3802/jgo.2010.21.3.199.

Primary amelanotic melanoma of the cervix: case report with review of literature

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Cytopathology and Gynecologic Pathology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. drsradhika@gmail.com

Abstract

Primary malignant melanoma of the uterine cervix is a rare neoplasm with poor prognosis. It may be misdiagnosed especially when amelanotic, in which case immunohistochemistry is useful in reaching the diagnosis. We present one such case of a 65-year-old postmenopausal female patient presenting with bleeding per vaginum. Speculum examination revealed an ulcero-proliferative growth involving the cervix. On histopathological examination it was originally suspected to be a poorly differentiated carcinoma or a non-epithelial malignant tumor, but was subsequently correctly diagnosed by immunohistochemical staining with the HMB-45 antibody and S-100 protein.

Keyword

Aamelanotic melanoma; HMB-45 antibody

MeSH Terms

Aged
Cervix Uteri
Female
Hemorrhage
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Melanoma
Melanoma, Amelanotic
Prognosis
S100 Proteins
Surgical Instruments
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms
Melanoma
S100 Proteins
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

Figure

  • Fig. 1 Paraffin section of cervical growth (A), showing diffuse sheets of round to spindle shaped undifferentiated malignant cells with focal epitheliotropism (H&E, ×100). High power (B) showing few binucleate and multinucleate bizarre tumor cells with prominent eosinophilic nucleoli (H&E, ×400). No pigment was seen within the tumor. Tumor cells were negative for cytokeratin (C, streptavidin-biotin immunoperoxidase CK, ×100) and show strong immunoreactivity for HMB-45 antigen (D, streptavidin-biotin immunoperoxidase HMB-45, ×400).


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