Multiple Early-Stage Malignant Melanoma of the Esophagus with a Long Follow-Up Period After Endoscopic Treatment: Report of a Case and a Literature Review

Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus (PMME) accounts for 0.1–0.2% of all malignant disease of the esophagus. Ninety-five percent of all melanomas are found in the derma, and only 0.5% are localized in the esophagus (Bisceglia et al. 2011). The prognosis of PMME is unfavorable because most patients are in the advanced stage at diagnosis and rapidly develop lymph node and distant metastases. Nine cases of early-stage PMME have been reported in eight papers (Minami et al. 2011; Miyatani et al. 2009; Morita et al. 2009; Suzuki et al. 2008; Kimura et al. 2005; Hara et al. 2003; Mikami et al. 2001; Kido et al. 2000). Only two of them were treated curatively by endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) (Miyatani et al. 2009; Kimura et al. 2005). We now report on a rare case of multiple early-stage PMME, which could obtain prolonged survival for ten years by the combination of systemic chemotherapy, repeated endoscopic treatment, and transarterial chemoembolization.