Metastatic melanoma of the gallbladder in a patient with acute cholecystitis: a case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Melanoma is an aggressive type of cancer that has significant metastatic potential. Most commonly, distant melanoma metastases are identified in the lung, liver and brain. Metastatic melanoma of the gallbladder is extremely rare and is usually associated with widespread gastrointestinal deposits which purports a poor prognosis. Whilst an uncommon site of melanoma metastases, it accounts for 50% of all tumour metastases to the gallbladder. There are a small number of case reports and case series that describe different manifestations of melanoma metastases to the gallbladder. We report the case of a patient who presented with acute cholecystitis on a background of cholelithiasis and underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy with histopathology identifying gallbladder metastasis from malignant melanoma.

Trocar Site Recurrence after Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy for Unsuspected Isolated Gallbladder Metastasis of Melanoma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

“…Nevertheless, while metastatic spread of melanoma to the gallbladder is rare, melanoma still accounts for approximately 50% of metastatic lesions found in this organ. A bit less frequent primary origins are renal cell carcinoma, breast cancer, and GI tract tumors [ 12 ].…”

“…The time between melanoma diagnosis and discovery of gallbladder metastasis varies significantly, from synchronous detection to 9 years later. Histology, Breslow thickness, Clark level, and sentinel lymph node biopsy status also vary significantly across case reports, and gallbladder metastasis can arise even in low-risk melanoma [ 12 ].…”