title: Rapidly lethal metastatic melanoma arising from a large congenital melanocytic naevus.
abstract: A case of fatal metastatic melanoma arising from a very large congenital melanocytic naevus (VLCMN) is reported. Large congenital naevi (LCMN) are naevi >20 cm in diameter. VLCMN is used in this report to mean an extensive LCMN involving a large percentage of the body, including smaller so-called satellite naevi. A 19-year-old man with a large congenital melanocytic naevus (LCMN) presented with a new nodule on the left chest wall, which was diagnosed as a thick melanoma with synchronous axillary lymph-node metastasis. The patient developed widespread distant metastasis within weeks after surgical resection of the primary site and lymph-node basin, which was unresponsive to systemic chemotherapy and whole brain radiation therapy, and he died 7 months after diagnosis of the primary melanoma.
authors.affiliation: UCSF Medical Center, Surgery Department, S-321, 513 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, California, 94143-0470, USA.
authors.forename: Christina Hsiao
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Brenda A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Shoo
authors.forename: Daniel C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Zedek
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kashani-Sabet
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Sagebiel
authors.forename: Stanley P L
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Leong