Central nervous system as exclusive site of disease in patients with melanoma: treatment and clinical outcome of two cases.
The central nervous system (CNS) is a favourite site of metastasis in advanced melanoma and, despite the improvement obtained in the control of brain metastasis, most patients die as a result of extracranial progression of the disease. CNS primary malignant melanoma is a rare entity and the diagnosis is generally made after the exclusion of a primary cutaneous or mucosal/retinal malignant melanoma, as differential histological diagnosis between primary and metastatic origins is often difficult. From a review of the literature, patients with primary brain melanoma or exclusive (and limited) brain metastasis in the absence of extracranial melanoma present a relatively good prognosis if adequately treated with aggressive locoregional treatments (neurosurgery and/or radiotherapy) and, later, with drugs able to cross the blood-brain barrier (i.e. fotemustine). In this letter, we describe the history, treatment and favourable clinical outcome of two patients with melanoma and CNS as the exclusive site of disease.
Ferraresi
Virginia
V
Ciccarese
Mariangela
M
Zeuli
Massimo
M
Cognetti
Francesco
F
D000328:Adult; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary* / Q000628:therapy*; D011379:Prognosis; D016896:Treatment Outcome