Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Nov 28, 2019; 25(44): 6571-6578
Published online Nov 28, 2019. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v25.i44.6571
Primary gastric melanoma: A case report with imaging findings and 5-year follow-up
Jian Wang, Fang Yang, Wei-Qun Ao, Chang Liu, Wen-Ming Zhang, Fang-Yi Xu
Jian Wang, Wei-Qun Ao, Chang Liu, Department of Radiology, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310012, Zhejiang Province, China
Fang Yang, Department of Pathology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310016, Zhejiang Province, China
Wen-Ming Zhang, Fang-Yi Xu, Department of Radiology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310016, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Wang J and Ao WQ designed the study; Yang F and Liu C performed the research; Zhang WM and Xu FY analyzed the data; Wang J and Ao WQ wrote the manuscript; Ao WQ revised the manuscript.
Supported by the Medical Health Science and Technology Project of Zhejiang Province (2019RC028).
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Wei-Qun Ao, MD, Doctor, Radiologist, Department of Radiology, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, No. 234, Gucui Road, Hangzhou 310012, Zhejiang Province, China. 78123858@qq.com
Telephone: +86-18758213025 Fax: +86-571-89972025
Received: September 19, 2019
Peer-review started: September 19, 2019
First decision: November 4, 2019
Revised: November 6, 2019
Accepted: November 13, 2019
Article in press: November 13, 2019
Published online: November 28, 2019
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Most melanomas identified in the stomach are metastatic; primary gastric melanoma (PGM) is extremely rare, and the relevant studies are relatively scarce. PGM may be incorrectly diagnosed as other gastric malignant tumor types.

CASE SUMMARY

We describe a rare case of PGM confirmed through long-term clinical observation and pathological diagnosis. A 67-year-old woman presented to our hospital with recurrent chest tightness and chest pain. Digital gastrointestinal radiography revealed a circular shadow in the gastric cardia. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a heterogeneous tumor with uneven enhancement. Enlarged lymph nodes were noted in the lesser curvature of the stomach. On magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), T1- and T2-weighted imaging revealed hyperintensity in and hypointensity in the tumor, respectively, both of which increased substantially after uneven enhancement. Near total gastrectomy was performed, and the tumor was pathologically confirmed to be a gastric melanoma. Because no other possible primary site of malignant melanoma was suspected, a clinical diagnosis of PGM was made. The patient was followed for nearly 5 years, during which she received CT reexamination, but no recurrence or metastasis was observed.

CONCLUSION

Certain imaging characteristics could be revealed in PGM. Imaging examination can be of great value in preoperative diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and follow-up of patients with PGM.

Keywords: Gastric tumors, Melanoma, Tomography, X-ray computed, Computed tomography, Magnetic resonance imaging

Core tip: Primary gastric melanoma (PGM) is extremely rare and has rarely been discussed. This report presents a rare case of PGM, along with the relevant digital gastrointestinal radiography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging findings of PGM, which have been rarely reported thus far. In this case report, the related literature was reviewed so as to explore the imaging features of PGM.