Prolonged Survival after the Surgical Management of a Solitary Malignant Melanoma Lesion within the Pancreas: a Case Report of Curative Resection

Abstract

Solitary involvement of the pancreas in patients with malignant melanoma is rare and the role of surgery in these patients is not defined. We present a patient with prolonged survival following aggressive surgical management for a solitary metastatic lesion within the pancreas. A 69-year-old male presented with a 10-day history of painless jaundice. His past medical history included a wide local excision for a superficial spreading melanoma, and subsequent loco-regional recurrence requiring lymph node dissection. Imaging on presentation showed a solitary mass in the head of the pancreas, with no signs of metastases. The patient underwent a pancreato-duodenectomy. Histology reported a metastatic malignant melanoma with clear excision margins. There was no nodal involvement and he remained disease-free eight years later. The survival of patients seems to be affected by the ability to perform a curative resection, and by a long disease-free interval between the treatment of the initial lesion and disease recurrence. Curative surgical resection should be offered to selected patients with a solitary pancreatic malignant melanoma metastasis. Such aggressive management may lead to prolonged, and disease-free survival.