Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus

PubMed, the Internet portal of biomedical and life sciences literature, indexed an interesting article, entitled “Asymptomatic primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus.” (Onkologie. 2007 Apr;30(4):206-8). Authors are Gerger A, Smolle-Jutter FM, Samonigg H, et al., from the Klinische Abteilung fur Onkologie, Medizinische Universitatsklinik, Graz, Austria. Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus is an exceedingly rare disease. This tumor is typically aggressive and disseminates early via the lymphatics and the bloodstream with a mean survival time between 10 and 15 months after radical surgical resection. The role of chemotherapy and immunotherapy is unclear. The authors present a case of a 78-year-old man came for a checkup with a medical history of reflux esophagitis and chronic gastritis. Esophagogastroscopy showed a bluishgray tumor of the esophagus, and histology revealed features consistent with malignant melanoma. The patient underwent total transhiatal esophagectomy with curative intention, and esophagogastric anastomosis was performed. To access the full abstract of the article, click here.