Korean Circ J.  2012 Apr;42(4):278-280. 10.4070/kcj.2012.42.4.278.

Malignant Melanoma of Unknown Primary Origin Presenting as Cardiac Metastasis

• Lee EY
• Choi JO
• Park HN
• Park EJ
• Lee GS
• Park JY
• Kim JS
• Jeon ES

• KMID: 2225022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4070/kcj.2012.42.4.278

Abstract

Malignant melanoma has a very high propensity to metastasize to the heart. However, melanoma may sometimes present as a metastatic lesion in the absence of a primary lesion, which are called melanomas of unknown primary origin. We report a case in which a patient presented with a metastatic maligant melanoma in the right atrium with pericardial effusion and without a primary origin.

Keyword

Melanoma; Neoplasma, unknown primary; Unknown primary; Heart neoplasms

MeSH Terms

Heart
Heart Atria
Heart Neoplasms
Humans
Melanoma
Neoplasm Metastasis
Pericardial Effusion

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Chest computed tomography. An inhomogeneous enhancing mass in the right atrium (arrow) and a massive amount of pericardial effusion were identified.

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  Fig. 2 Two-dimensional cardiac echocardiogram. In a subcostal view of the heart, a large mass measuring 42×31 mm was visualized in the right atrium.

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  Fig. 3 Cardiac MRI. A large mass surrounding ascending aorta spread into transverse sinus and around pulmonary trunk and right pulmonary artery.

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  Fig. 4 Pathology and immunohistochemistry of the pericardial biopsy. A: cytoplasmic melanin-pigmented cells and prominent nucleoli were found (×200). B: in immunohistochemistry, antibodies to HMB45 were positive (×200).

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