Primary anorectal malignant melanoma is a fairly uncommon but highly malignant disease. It is sometimes mistaken for benign conditions such as hemorrhoids or rectal polyps. Here we describe two cases of primary malignant melanoma of the rectum: in one patient a wide local excision (WLE) was performed and in the other an abdominoperineal resection (APR), both with curative intent. Both patients developed systemic recurrences and died of their disease at 24 and 10 months, respectively. In conclusion, the prognosis of anorectal melanoma is poor, irrespective of surgical treatment. WLE is the first choice for primary anorectal melanoma, while APR should be reserved for those cases where complete transrectal tumor resection is technically impossible.

The authors evaluated the peroperative immunologic state of patients with colorectal tumors and controlled the postoperative incidence of infections. Twenty-one patients were studied, and delayed type hypersensitivity reactivity determined by the CMI multitest (Merieux) eight days before and eight days after surgery. A lymphocytogram was performed using monoclonal antibodies. A significant percentage of patients were anergic preoperatively. Immunologic analysis revealed lymphocytosis in the first postoperative period. The largest absolute quantitative increase was shown by NK CD16+ cells. It is possible that the results, obtained by dynamic monitoring of the main parameters of cellular immunity, will offer a new way for prognostic evaluation of surgical risk.