Abstract
Background. We herein report two cases of resected lung metastasis of malignant melanoma. Case 1. A 64-year-old female underwent resection of pigmented genitalia in 2004. The pathological diagnosis was malignant melanoma (pT1aN0M0, stage IA) and extensive tumor resection was performed. She was followed up without chemotherapy. In 2011, an abnormal lesion was noted on a mass screening chest X-ray, and the patient was referred to our department. Computed tomography of the chest revealed a 16-mm tumor in right S2, and she underwent surgery. A pathological diagnosis of adenocarcinoma was made via intraoperative cytology, and right upper lobectomy with lymph node dissection was performed. The postoperative diagnosis was lung metastasis of malignant melanoma. Case 2. A 74-year-old male with a history of malignant melanoma on his face (pT4bN0M0, stage IIC) underwent extensive tumor resection with lymph node dissection of the left neck. He received two cycles of chemotherapy after the surgery. In 2012, a 16-mm tumor in the right S9 was noted on chest computed tomography, and he was referred to our department. Because the tumor was suspected to reflect pulmonary metastasis of malignant melanoma, we performed right basal segmentectomy with lymph node dissection. The postoperative diagnosis was lung metastasis of malignant melanoma. No postoperative tumor recurrence was detected in either case. Conclusions. The possibility of lung metastasis of amelanotic malignant melanoma should be considered in patients with a history of malignant melanoma, even if the tumor is suspected to be lung cancer. The ability to perform complete surgical resection of lung metastasis of malignant melanoma improves the postsurgical prognosis.
