title: Intramammary metastatic melanoma of unknown primary origin in a 58-year old patient: a case report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Malignant melanoma metastasis to the breast is a rare disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  We present the case of a 58-year-old postmenopausal Caucasian woman with metastatic malignant melanoma of unknown origin of the right breast. She presented with a palpable lump in the inferior quadrant of her right breast. The investigations concluded it was breast metastasis from a malignant melanoma of unknown origin. The treatment consisted of mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection. Two lymph nodes were positive for tumor cells and one showed extracapsular extension. Our patient did not receive immediate adjuvant therapy. Six weeks after the surgery, our patient presented a relapse in the right axilla (a 6 × 4 cm mass) with positive internal mammary lymph nodes and a single brain metastasis. This relapse motivated an adjuvant treatment with partial regression of the disease. Currently, our patient presents multiple metastases with poor prognosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  From this experience, we advocate an immediate aggressive handling of melanoma metastasis to the breast.
authors.affiliation: Service de Gynécologie-Obstétrique, HRC (Hôpital Riviera-Chablais), Aigle, Switzerland. zeinae@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Zeina
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: El-Tani
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Histocytopathologie, ICHV, Sion, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duc
authors.affiliation: Service de Radiodiagnostic et de Radiologie, HRC Suisse, Aigle, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gluecker
authors.affiliation: Service de Gynécologie-Obstétrique, HRC (Hôpital Riviera-Chablais), Aigle, Switzerland. Olivier.Cottier@hopitalrivierachablais.ch.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cottier
mesh_terms: D001365:Axilla / Q000473:pathology*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015182:Lymphatic Irradiation / Q000379:methods*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D008408:Mastectomy; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009382:Neoplasms, Unknown Primary / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012878:Skin Neoplasms; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D000096142:Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma
keywords: Breast cancer; Diagnosis; Melanoma; Metastatic; Therapy