Wang QQ, Li YM, Qin G, Liu F, Xu YY. Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus: A case report. World J Clin Cases 2023; 11(6): 1426-1433 [PMID: 36926119 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i6.1426]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ying-Ying Xu, MD, Doctor, Department of Gastroenterology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, No. 2 Yinghua East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China. 15901033816@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (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: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Qian-Qian Wang, Department of Gastroenterology, Peking University China-Japan Friendship School of Clinical Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
Yan-Mei Li, Geng Qin, Fang Liu, Ying-Ying Xu, Department of Gastroenterology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing 100029, China
Author contributions: Wang QQ contributed to manuscript writing and editing; Li YM, Qin G and Liu F contributed to data collection; Xu YY contributed to conceptualization and supervision; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
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: Ying-Ying Xu, MD, Doctor, Department of Gastroenterology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, No. 2 Yinghua East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China. 15901033816@163.com
Received: December 18, 2022 Peer-review started: December 18, 2022 First decision: January 3, 2023 Revised: January 7, 2023 Accepted: February 7, 2023 Article in press: February 7, 2023 Published online: February 26, 2023 Processing time: 68 Days and 4.2 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus (PMME) is a rare malignant disease whose clinical and molecular pathological features, origin and pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment have not been elucidated.
CASE SUMMARY
In this paper, we report a case of a 73-year-old male with PMME. The patient complained of progressive dysphagia accompanied by substantial weight loss. Gastroscopy revealed a purple black bulging-type mass in the lower esophagus with easy bleeding on contact and scattered satellite lesions in the stomach. Histopathological biopsy revealed melanocytes in the esophageal mucosa. Physical examination and multidisciplinary consultation led to diagnostic exclusion of melanoma originating in other organs, such as the skin. Through this case report and literature review, we aimed to describe the clinical and molecular pathological features of PMME and summarize possible pathways of pathogenesis as well as cutting-edge therapeutic advances.
CONCLUSION
PMME is a rare malignancy of the esophagus with a poor prognosis. Clinicians should raise their awareness and be able to identify early lesions.
Core Tip: We report a case of a 73-year-old male with primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus (PMME) and extensive systemic multiple metastases, with an unavoidable mortality outcome despite aggressive diagnosis and treatment. Through this case report and literature review, we aimed to further improve clinicians' understanding of the clinical and molecular pathological features, origin and pathogenesis of PMME, to avoid misdiagnosis and missed diagnoses, to present cutting-edge treatment advances and to develop individualized and comprehensive treatment plans tailored to patients in an effort to improve their clinical outcomes.
