title: Ovarian metastatic melanoma. A diagnostic pitfall in histopathologic examination.
abstract: Malignant melanoma metastasis to the ovary is exceptional. This observation relates the case of a 33 year-old woman who presented with a voluminous unilateral, histologically poorly differentiated, ovarian mass, and discusses the differential diagnosis. Immunohistochemical studies demonstrated strong positivity for S-100 protein, HMB-45 and vimentin. We emphasize the unpredictable clinical and biologic behavior of malignant melanomas and the necessity to perform immunohistochemical study by S-100 protein and HMB-45 in a poorly differentiated metastasis to the ovary, histologically compatible with malignant melanoma; even in the absence of intracytoplasmic pigment and clinical antecedent of cutaneous malignant melanoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pathology, University Hospital of Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Remadi
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: McGee
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Egger
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ismail
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary*