Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. May 26, 2023; 11(15): 3571-3577
Published online May 26, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i15.3571
Malignant melanoma resection and reconstruction with the first manifestation of lumbar metastasis: A case report
Zi-Xuan Guo, Xue-Lin Zhao, Zi-Yi Zhao, Qing-Yan Zhu, Zi-Ying Wang, Meng Xu
Zi-Xuan Guo, Xue-Lin Zhao, Zi-Yi Zhao, Qing-Yan Zhu, Zi-Ying Wang, Graduate School, Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing 100853, China
Meng Xu, Department of Orthopedics, The Forth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100037, China
Author contributions: Guo ZX participated in manuscript writing, editing, and literature search; Zhao XL, Zhao ZY, Zhu QY and Wang ZY performed data collection under the supervision of Xu M; the manuscript was drafted by Guo ZX, reviewed by all authors, and revised with contributions from all authors under the supervision and final revision of Xu M; Xu M was responsible for the integrity of the work from inception to the end; all authors read and approved the final manuscript and contributed to the review and interpretation of data.
Supported by The National Defense Science and Technology Foundation Enhancement Plan, No. 2019-JCJQ-JJ-147.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Meng Xu, MD, Chief Doctor, Department of Orthopedics, The Forth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, No. 51 Fucheng Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100037, China. 13501175839@163.com
Received: December 24, 2022
Peer-review started: December 24, 2022
First decision: February 20, 2023
Revised: March 5, 2023
Accepted: April 19, 2023
Article in press: April 19, 2023
Published online: May 26, 2023
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Malignant melanoma (MM) has shown an increasing incidence worldwide, and a potential to metastasize to almost any part of the body. Clinically, MM with bone metastasis as the initial manifestation is extremely rare. Spinal metastatic MM can cause spinal cord or nerve root compression, resulting in severe pain and paralysis. Currently, the primary clinical treatments for MM are surgical resection in conjunction with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy.

CASE SUMMARY

Here, we report the case of a 52-year-old male who presented to the clinic with progressive low back pain and limited nerve function. No primary lesion or spinal cord compression was detected from computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar vertebrae and positron emission tomography scan. A lumbar puncture biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of lumbar spine metastatic MM. Following surgical resection, the patient’s quality of life improved, symptoms were relieved, and comprehensive treatment was initiated, which prevented recurrence.

CONCLUSION

Spinal metastatic MM is clinically rare, and may cause neurological symptoms, including paraplegia. Currently, the clinical treatment plan consists of surgical resection in combination with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy.

Keywords: Spinal metastatic malignant melanoma, Surgical resection, Comprehensive treatment, Pathological report, Case report

Core Tip: The worldwide incidence of malignant melanoma (MM) is increasing every year. MM is very aggressive and has the potential to metastasize to any part of the body. However, symptoms of spinal metastasis are rare in their initial manifestation. Here, we performed total vertebral body resection, three-dimensional printed artificial vertebral body reconstruction, and comprehensive treatment, including targeted therapy and chemotherapy, which effectively controlled the condition.