Melanoma of Vater's Diverticulum and Lower Portion of Common Bile Duct Causing Complete Obstruction

Malignant melanoma metastatic to the common bile duct

“…However, less common still, are the number of cases in which metastatic melanoma involving the biliary tree results in symptoms during life 9 . A review of the world's literature with regards to melanoma deposits of the extrahepatic bile duct system causing symptoms, reveals one case report of cystic duct involvement, 10 and 12 cases of common bile duct involvement 6,9–19 …”

“…However, metastatic melanoma to the biliary tree is rare. In 1908, Duval reported a case of ‘melanoma of Vater's diverticulum and lower portion of common bile duct causing complete obstruction’ 6 . In a clinicopathological review, Das Gupta and Brasfield 2 found a 15% incidence of gall bladder metastases and a further 6% of patients with bile duct metastasis present at autopsy.…”

“…Despite absence of clinical symptoms, melanoma is the commonest metastatic lesion involving the gall bladder, accounting for 50–66% of gall bladder metastasis 7,8 . However, malignant melanoma involvement of the remainder of the extrahepatic biliary system is rare with only a handful of clinical case reports 6,9–19 …”