Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Oct 6, 2021; 9(28): 8498-8503
Published online Oct 6, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i28.8498
Surgical treatment of liver metastasis with uveal melanoma: A case report
Young-Hun Kim, Nam-Kyu Choi
Young-Hun Kim, Department of Surgery, Chosun University Hospital, Gwangju Metropolitan City 61453, South Korea
Nam-Kyu Choi, Department of Surgery, Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Chosun University Hospital, Gwangju Metropolitan City 61453, South Korea
Author contributions: Kim YH collected the clinical information and drafted the manuscript; Choi NK reviewed the literature and contributed to manuscript revision; both authors contributed to intellectual discussions regarding the manuscript content and approved the final manuscript to be submitted.
Informed consent statement: The patient provided informed written consent for reporting of her case and accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the 2016 CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the 2016 CARE Checklist.
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: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Nam-Kyu Choi, MD, Professor, Department of Surgery, Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Chosun University Hospital, 365 Pilmun-daero, Seonam-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City 61453, South Korea. cnk@chosun.ac.kr
Received: May 19, 2021
Peer-review started: May 19, 2021
First decision: June 15, 2021
Revised: June 27, 2021
Accepted: July 30, 2021
Article in press: July 30, 2021
Published online: October 6, 2021
Processing time: 132 Days and 7.3 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Uveal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular malignant tumor affecting the eyes in adults. Nearly half of all primary uveal melanoma tumors metastasize; yet, there are currently no effective treatments for metastatic uveal melanoma. At the time of diagnosis, less than 4% of patients with uveal melanoma have detectable metastatic disease. Uveal melanoma disseminates hematogenously, with the most common site of metastasis being liver (93%), followed by lung (24%) and bone (16%).

CASE SUMMARY

A 57-year-old woman was diagnosed with a dysplastic nevus on her eyelid, which was histologically confirmed as malignant melanoma after resection. The patient had no evidence of metastasis to other organs and received both radiation therapy and chemotherapy. After systemic treatment, a metastatic left neck lymph node was found and another round of chemotherapy was performed after resection. Positron emission tomography-Computed Tomography tracking after completion of chemotherapy revealed two metastatic liver nodules. The patient underwent partial liver resection and showed no signs of recurrence at 1 year after surgery.

CONCLUSION

Surgery is an effective treatment for metastatic uveal melanoma. In patients with liver metastatic lesions, hepatectomy improves outcome.

Keywords: Uveal melanoma; Metastatic melanoma; Liver metastasis; Hepatectomy; Prognosis; Case report

Core Tip: Uveal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular malignant tumor affecting the eyes in adults. Nearly half of all primary uveal melanoma tumors metastasize; yet, there are currently no effective treatments for metastatic uveal melanoma. We reported a case of malignant melanoma. We found that the surgical approach to treatment of uveal melanoma with liver metastases improves prognosis.