JLE

Bulletin du Cancer

MENU

Malignant melanoma of the ano-rectal region: case report and review of the literature Volume 84, issue 4, Avril 1997

Authors
Département de médecine interne et de gériatrie, Université des études de Catania, via Messina 829, 95126 Catania, Italie.

Malignant ano-rectal melanoma is a rare pathology without characteristic symptoms. It is more frequent in females than in males (ratio 2:1) and represents 3-15% of anal canal tumours. A case of a woman who recently came to us complaining of painful defecation, tenesmus and rectal bleeding induced us to reconsider the diag-nostic and therapeutic implications in ano-rectal melanoma. The low incidence of cases reported and the negative 5-year prognosis are due to late, often incidental, diagnosis during clinical observation for hemorrhoids, rectal polyps or rhagades, together with the aspecificity of the tumour symptoms. We hope our case report emphasizes the importance of conducting early diagnosis in patients at risk of ano-rectal melanoma.