title: Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus treated by esophagectomy and systemic chemotherapy.
abstract: We describe herein a case of asymptomatic primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus. A 65-year-old man presented with a 4-cm filling defect in the middle third of the esophagus on a routine barium swallow. Subtotal esophagectomy accompanied by lymph node dissection was performed through a right thoracotomy. Postoperatively, the patient received five cycles of systemic chemotherapy with dacarbazine (DTIC), nimustine hydrochloride (ACNU), and vincristine (VCR) (DAV therapy), but ultimately died of generalized metastatic disease 15 months after surgery. Malignant melanoma of the esophagus has an extremely poor prognosis despite various therapeutic efforts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery I, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan. MatsutaniTakeshi@aol.com
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsutani
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Onda
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miyashita
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hagiwara
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Akiya
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takubo
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sasajima
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003606:Dacarbazine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016629:Esophagectomy / Q000379:methods*; D004945:Esophagoscopy; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D015376:Nimustine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014750:Vincristine / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D015376:Nimustine; D014750:Vincristine; D003606:Dacarbazine