title: Long-term survivor of primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus treated with surgical resection.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus is a rare diagnosis with only a few hundred cases reported in the literature. Due to the aggressive nature of this disease, long-term survivors are exceedingly rare with only a handful of case reports.
  
  
  METHODS
  We report the case of a 38 year old man who presented with chest and back pain. Workup revealed a mediastinal mass and the patient was diagnosed with primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus and treated with radical resection. Despite the poor prognosis associated with primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus, he remains disease free for over 7 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Initially primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus was a controversial diagnosis until the demonstration of normal melanocytes in healthy patients. It is an aggressive disease that is nearly uniformly fatal. Review of the literature shows that treatment with radical surgical resection extends prognosis by months while treatment with adjuvant chemotherapy is controversial.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus is a rare and aggressive disease that should be treated with surgical resection when feasible. We report the rare case of a long term survivor over 7 years since diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital Department of Surgery, Baird 16th Floor, Beth Israel Hospital,1st Ave at 16th Street, New York, NY 10003, USA. Electronic address: joseph.sabat@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sabat
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Mount Sinai St. Luke's, 1111 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Rifat
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mannan
authors.affiliation: Weill Cornell Imaging at New York-Presbyterian, 1305 York Avenue 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10021, USA.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Legasto
authors.affiliation: Vassar Brothers Medical Center, 45 Reade PlaceDyson Center 3rd Floor, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601, USA.
authors.forename: Cliff
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Connery
keywords: Esophageal neoplasms; Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus; Video assisted thoracoscopic surgery