Is Radiotherapy An Effective Treatment Option for Recurrent Metastatic Malignant Melanoma? a Case Report of Short-Course, Large-Fraction Radiation and a Literature Review

BACKGROUND Malignant melanoma is regarded to be radiation resistant. A case of recurrent malignant melanoma with in-transit metastasis treated with short-course, high-fraction palliative radiation is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of radiotherapy. METHOD An 80-year-old woman initially tre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of plastic surgery 2011-12, Vol.19 (4), p.153-155
Main Authors: Hallock, Abhirami, Vujovic, Olga, Yu, Edward
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case Report
Metastasis
Palliative care
Radiation therapy
Skin cancer
Womens health
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Summary:BACKGROUND Malignant melanoma is regarded to be radiation resistant. A case of recurrent malignant melanoma with in-transit metastasis treated with short-course, high-fraction palliative radiation is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of radiotherapy. METHOD An 80-year-old woman initially treated surgically for a primary malignant melanoma of the left lower leg presented with multiple in-transit metastases. Palliative radiation was offered to treat two fungating in-transit masses that were resistant to treatments of isolated limb infusion and intralesional interleukin-2. RESULTS Treatment consisted of short-course, high-fraction radiation with 800 cGy fractions given over three weeks on days 0, 7 and 21, for a total dose of 2400 cGy. She experienced a complete response that was maintained for six months. CONCLUSIONS Radiation is an effective treatment option for palliation of recurrent malignant melanoma. Complete response is possible even with short-course, high-fraction radiation.
ISSN:2292-5503
1195-2199
2292-5511
1918-1507
DOI:10.1177/229255031101900405