Secondary malignant melanoma in primary mediastinal germ cell tumour

Secondary transformation in Germ Cell Tumours (GCT) is an extremely rare event. We report here a case of malignant melanoma arising in primary mediastinal GCT. A young male presented with new onset dyspnoea and a mediastinal mass. As serum alpha fetoprotein was raised, a diagnosis of primary mediast...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association 2015-01, Vol.65 (1), p.98-100
Main Authors: Hannan, Abdul, Akhter, Noreen, Kazmi, Ather Saeed, Muzaffar, Narjis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Chemotherapy
Diagnosis
Fatal Outcome
Humans
Male
Mediastinal Neoplasms - pathology
Melanoma
Melanoma - pathology
Melanoma, Cutaneous Malignant
Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal - pathology
Neoplasms, Second Primary - pathology
Skin Neoplasms
Tumors
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Secondary transformation in Germ Cell Tumours (GCT) is an extremely rare event. We report here a case of malignant melanoma arising in primary mediastinal GCT. A young male presented with new onset dyspnoea and a mediastinal mass. As serum alpha fetoprotein was raised, a diagnosis of primary mediastinal GCT was made. He achieved remission with standard chemotherapy and resection of the mass. After a year, he relapsed with widespread disease which on work-up revealed malignant melanoma. As examination for cutaneous melanoma was unremarkable, a diagnosis of mediastinal GCT with secondary transformation to melanoma was made. Exact origin of melanoma in GCTs is unknown, but these may occur from transformation of dermal elements or de-differentiation of germ cells to melanomas. Before making such a diagnosis, search for primary cutaneous melanoma is mandatory. No clear guidelines exist in literature for the treatment of secondary melanomas, so current management guidelines for cutaneous melanoma may be followed.
ISSN:0030-9982