Karmiris Konstantinos, Roussomoustakaki Maria, Tzardi Maria, Romanos John, Grammatikakis John, Papadakis Manolis, Polychronaki Maria, Kouroumalis Elias A
Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital, P.O. Box 1352, 71110, Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
Surg Today. 2007;37(6):506-9. doi: 10.1007/s00595-006-3443-y. Epub 2007 May 28.
Cutaneous malignant melanoma (MM) often metastasizes to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract; however, primary MM of the small intestine is a controversial diagnosis. We report the case of a 76-year-old woman found to have a primary MM in the ileum. After clinical evaluation, the radiological workup, which included magnetic resonance enteroclysis (MRE), revealed a large polypoid intraluminal tumor. She underwent laparotomy and the lesion was excised. Histological examination of the resected specimen revealed morphological and immunohistochemical characteristics of MM and a detailed postoperative examination failed to identify a primary lesion on the skin, anus, oculus, or any other site. The patient died of brain metastasis 6 months after surgery. According to our review of the literature, this is the first case of primary MM of the small intestine diagnosed with the help of MRE.
