Metastatic melanoma: an unusual presentation

ABSTRACT In this report we describe a case of a malignant cutaneous melanoma metastasizingto the pleural surface and peritoneal cavity 5 years after surgical resection of the pri -mary lesion. Malignant cutaneous melanoma is a very aggressive cancer able tometastasize anywhere in the body. Pleural secondary lesions represent a rare eventdescribed only in a small number of patients and the association with peritoneal lo -calizationsmaysuggestanuncommonpatternofspreadthatwediscuss.Freefulltextavailable at www.tumorionline.itIntroductionCutaneous malignant melanoma is an aggressive cancer able to quickly and widelymetastasize. Its natural history is characterized by rapid spread to several sitesthrough different mechanisms including proliferation, neovascularization, em -bolism, local and lymphatic invasion. Systemic spread can be direct, lymphatic orhematogenous 1,2 .Metastases of melanoma may occur as satellite, regional lymph node or distantmetastases and may locate anywhere in the body, although the most common sitesare skin and lymph nodes (42-59%), lungs (18-36%), liver (14-20%), brain (12-20%),and skeletal bones (11-17%)