A Rare Disease of the Digestive Tract: Esophageal Melanosis

Abstract

Esophageal melanosis which is characterized by melanocytic pro-liferation in the squamous epithelium of the esophagus and melanin accumulatin of esophageal mucosa (EM) is a rare disease of the di-gestive system. Although esophageal melanosis is considered to be a benign disease, its etiology is not cleared and has been reported to be the precursor lesion of esophageal primary melanomas. In this report, we aimed to note esophageal melanosis in a 55-year-old female case who applied to our clinic with difficulty in swallowing, burning be-hind the breastbone in the stomach, heartburn, indigestion, and pain in the upper abdomen after endoscopic and pathologic evaluation. Complaints dropped with anti-acid therapy and case was followed by intermittent endoscopic procedures because of precursor melanocytic lesions.