A resected case of primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus—early detection of recurrence by FDG-PET/CT

Abstract

Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus (PMME) is a rare, aggressive, therapy-resistant malignant tumor arising from esophageal mucosal melanocytes. It has been reported that fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) has a clinical impact on PMME diagnosis; however, it remains unclear whether postoperative surveillance using FDG-PET/CT is useful for PMME patients. In this case study, FDG-PET/CT detected the recurrent tumors in their early stage after a curative resection of PMME. We report on a case of a 67-year-old Japanese male admitted to our hospital for the evaluation of polypoid tumors of the esophagogastric junction, which were diagnosed as PMME. He was treated with a curative resection by esophagectomy and 6 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy of DAV (dacarbazine, nimustine, and vincristine). However, the PMME recurred 26 months after the surgery when surveillance FDG-PET/CT detected the recurrent tumors in their early stage. FDG-PET/ CT may be useful to detect recurrence in the postoperative surveillance phase for PMME patients.