Malignant Melanoma Metastasizes to Colonic Polyp

Abstract

Malignant tumors metastasizing to the colon has been observed rarely. Gastrointestinal metastasis can present as benign, unpigmented polyps endoscopically. Most patients do not display any symptoms, and if symptomatic, they usually present with gastrointestinal bleeding. For patients with the history of melanoma, histopathology of polyp can change or alter the course of management. This is a case of a 74-year-old male diagnosed with recurrent melanoma of left ear. Colon cancer screening found blood in his stool. Colonoscopy displayed to have three polyps, one polyp was found to be malignant melanoma. The patient was started on Pembrolizumab, and was tolerating immunotherapy well with no new complaints three months later.

Cutaneous melanoma metastasis to the large and small intestine: A case report and review of the literature

“…The period between the appearance of metastases in the GIT and the primary melanoma ranges between 2 and 180 months 7 . The frequency of metastatic deposits in the small intestine is 35%, followed by around 15.5% in the colon, 7% in the stomach, 5% in the rectum, and around 1% of cases in the anus 8 . Even though melanoma metastases in the gastrointestinal tract are rare, it is essential to perform a clinical examination of this region given that cutaneous melanomas that occur in the head and neck region, abdomen, and extremities most often metastasize to the gastrointestinal tract 9 .…”

“…Između pojave metastaza u GIT-u i prethodnog primarnog melanoma u proseku prođe od dva meseca do 180 meseci 7 . Učestalost metastatskih depozita u takom crevu iznosi 35%, u debelom crevu je oko 15,5%, u želucu 7%, a u rektumu 5%; u anusu je najređa i sreće se u oko 1% slučajeva 8 . Iako su metastaze melanoma u GIT-u retke, veoma je važan klinički pregled ove regije budući da kutani melanomi koji se javljaju u predelu glave, vrata, abdomena i ekstremiteta najčešće daju metastaze u GIT-u 9 .…”