title: Increased serum levels of 5-S-cysteinyldopa and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in a patient with a uterine amelanotic metastasis from a primary vaginal malignant melanoma.
abstract: A 75-year-old Japanese woman, who had an enlarged uterus and two nodules on the anterior vaginal wall, underwent wide excision of the anterior vaginal wall, bilateral inguinal lymphadenectomy, modified radical hysterectomy, and pelvic lymph node dissection. Her serum level of 5-S-cysteinyldopa (5-S-CD) was elevated, but her serum intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) level was within normal limits. Histologic examination of the vaginal wall revealed atypical melanocytes at the dermoepidermal junction and numerous melanin-containing granules in the cytoplasm of the tumor cells. The tumor in the uterus consisted of sheets of anaplastic cells with evidence of diminished melanization. Five months after her initial presentation, she developed a recurrence and expired. The serum level of ICAM-1 was beyond the normal limit at the time of recurrence. Both the serum 5-S-CD and the ICAM-1 levels became elevated after recurrence and appeared to be correlated with disease progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Kumamoto, 860-8556, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suenaga
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Katabuchi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kageshita
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ono
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003548:Cysteinyldopa / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000097:blood*; D008545:Melanoma / Q000097:blood* / Q000556:secondary*; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000556:secondary*; D014625:Vaginal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1; D003548:Cysteinyldopa