title: Marked response to imatinib mesylate in metastatic acral lentiginous melanoma on the thumb.
abstract: We report a case of melanoma that had a marked response to treatment with imatinib mesylate (IM). The patient was a 61-year-old man who presented with a small red nodule on the thumb and destruction of the nail plate. On histological examination, this lesion was diagnosed as a melanoma, and computed tomography revealed lymph-node swelling in the left axilla and nodules in both lung fields. Although the patient received intratumoral injections of interferon-β and systemic administration of dacarbazine, both primary and metastatic lesions increased in size. Immunochemistry detected a KIT mutation, which was confirmed by DNA sequencing analysis, and patient was given IM. Within 2 weeks of starting the IM regimen, the size of the nodule on the nail plate markedly decreased, and the axillary lymph-node swelling and lung-nodule formation regressed. This case suggests that IM may be a promising treatment option for KIT mutation-positive melanoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan. miyukiy@yamanashi.ac.jp
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ando
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawamura
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shibagaki
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shimada
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001549:Benzamides; D006801:Humans; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000556:secondary*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D010879:Piperazines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / Q000235:genetics; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D013933:Thumb
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001549:Benzamides; D010879:Piperazines; D011743:Pyrimidines; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit