Primary melanoma of the bladder: Case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Skin melanoma represents one of the most common and lethal solid tumor. It usually develops on the skin but it can occur in any tissues with melanine- containing-cells (extracutaneous malignant melanoma). Only 4-5% of malignant melanomas originate in extracutaneous tissues, and they have an extremely lethal behavior (1). These non-skin malignant melanomas are rare but extremely aggressive. Primary melanoma of the genitourinary tract accounts for less than 0.2% of all melanomas. To date only 28 cases of primary bladder melanoma (PMM) are described. We report a rare case of PMM of the bladder in a 72 years old man treated with radical cystectomy and immunotherapy with Nivolumab.

Conservative management of primary malignant melanoma of the bladder: a case report

“…Partial and radical cystectomy are more aggressive treatment options required in patients with more advanced diseases [1,6,7]. Adjuvant intravesical administration of BCG has been proposed in some cases [8]. Indeed, transurethral BCG injection has the potential to increase humoral antimelanoma antibody levels in patients with bladder melanoma [9].…”

Primary Malignant Melanoma of the Urinary Bladder

“…Melanoma of the skin had an incidence of roughly 23% of all new US cancer diagnoses in 2017 [ 1 ]. While the majority of melanomas are cutaneous lesions of the skin, only 4-5% of melanomas are extracutaneous [ 2 ]. One extracutaneous lesion, primary malignant melanoma (PMM) of the bladder, represents less than 0.2% of all melanomas [ 2 - 5 ], making this malignancy extremely rare.…”

“…While the majority of melanomas are cutaneous lesions of the skin, only 4-5% of melanomas are extracutaneous [ 2 ]. One extracutaneous lesion, primary malignant melanoma (PMM) of the bladder, represents less than 0.2% of all melanomas [ 2 - 5 ], making this malignancy extremely rare. In regards to bladder tumors, 95% of all bladder tumors are typically urothelial carcinomas, with only 5% representing other rare primary cancers such as gastrointestinal stromal tumors, lymphoma, and neuroendocrine tumors [ 3 ].…”

“…Extracutaneous melanomas are extraordinarily rare, aggressive, and extremely lethal [ 2 ]. PMM of the bladder, a type of extracutaneous melanoma, typically presents with gross hematuria and/or other voiding symptoms such as dysuria or incontinence [ 2 - 5 ]. There is no apparent risk regarding gender at this time in regards to PMM of the bladder, and it affects both genders equally [ 3 ].…”

“…There is no apparent risk regarding gender at this time in regards to PMM of the bladder, and it affects both genders equally [ 3 ]. PMM typically presents in people over 50 years old [ 2 ], with a mean age of 60.6 years [ 3 ].…”