Internal Medicine
Online ISSN : 1349-7235
Print ISSN : 0918-2918
ISSN-L : 0918-2918
CASE REPORTS
Amelanotic Malignant Melanoma with Dense Pleural Thickening Mimicking Malignant Mesothelioma
Takeshi SarayaMasachika FujiwaraKikuko MoritaTakayasu WatanabeYukari OgawaHajime TakizawaRichard W Light
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JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

2019 Volume 58 Issue 7 Pages 969-972

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Abstract

A 51-year-old man was diagnosed with stage IIC nodular malignant melanoma (T4bN0M0) of the right upper arm. The tumor was treatment-refractory, and left-sided pleural effusion emerged 1.5 years later. Aspiration of pleural fluid revealed abundant amelanotic, atypical cells that resembled epithelial malignant mesothelioma or lung adenocarcinoma cells; these cells were positive for melanoma-associated antigen recognized by T cells (MART-1)/Melan-A, HMB-45, and S-100 on immunocytochemistry. Thoracic computed tomography (CT) revealed marked diffuse pleural thickening in the left hemithorax that mimicked malignant mesothelioma; thus, the present report describes the unique cytological and radiological findings of this case.

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© 2019 by The Japanese Society of Internal Medicine
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