Tuberc Respir Dis.  2015 Jul;78(3):272-275. 10.4046/trd.2015.78.3.272.

Primary Pulmonary Malignant Melanoma: An Unexpected Tumor

• Hwang KB
• Hwang KE
• Jung JW
• Oh SJ
• Park MJ
• Jeong YH
• Choi KH
• Jeong ET
• Kim HR

• KMID: 2320655
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2015.78.3.272

Abstract

Malignant melanoma occurs most frequently on the skin. However, it can also arise in other organs and tissues of the body. Primary pulmonary malignant melanoma is a very rare non-epithelial neoplasm accounting for 0.01% of all primary pulmonary tumors. The treatment of choice is surgical resection of the tumor with an oncologically adequate margin as in lobectomy or pneumonectomy. The prognosis of this condition is rather poor. Based on previous data, its 5-year survival is at least 10%. Here, we report a case of an 82-year-old woman whose primary pulmonary melanoma was detected incidentally.

Keyword

Melanoma; Lung

MeSH Terms

Aged, 80 and over
Female
Humans
Lung
Melanoma*
Pneumonectomy
Prognosis
Skin

Figure

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  Figure 1 (A, B) Chest computed tomography showing a heterogeneous enhancing mass of 8 cm containing an inner low attenuating portion in the right lower lobe.

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  Figure 2 Bronchoscopy showing a black-pigmented mass in the posterobasal segment of the right lower lobe.

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  Figure 3 (A) Histopathological examination of the biopsy specimen showing melanoma cells containing melanin granules (H&E stain, ×200). (B) Histopathological features of "nesting" of melanoma cells just beneath the bronchial epithelium (H&E stain, ×400). (C) The melanoma cells are round or spindle shaped with melanin pigmentation and positive for human melanoma black 45 (×200).

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  Figure 4 (A, B) Positron emission tomography/computed tomography showing a hypermetabolic lesion (standardized uptake value, 14.5) in the right lower lobe without evidence of metastatic disease.

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