A Case of Primary Malignant Melanoma of the Lung

Abstract

A 83-year-old man was admitted with lumbago and back pain. An abnormal shadow was pointed on chest X-ray film. CT-guided lung biopsy was performed, and the pathological diagnosis was malignant melanoma. Various investigations failed to reveal any other lesion. He died of respiratory failure three months after the first admission. On autopsy, systemic metastases were found but there was no other suspected primary lesion except that in the left lung. Pathologically “junctional change” was found in the lower lobe of the left lung. Based on these findings, we diagnosed primary malignant melanoma of the lung. Primary malignant melanomas of the lung are very rare and only about 30 cases have been reported. The prognosis is very poor. Patients died within one year in most cases. © 1998, The Japan Lung Cancer Society. All rights reserved.