Statement from the work session on chemically-induced alterations in the developing immune system: the wildlife/human connection.

Background: Primary melanoma of the vagina is an extremely rare neoplasm with approximately 250 reported cases in the world literature [1-4]. In its amelanotic variant this lesion may raise several differential diagnostic problems in cytological specimens [5]. In this setting, the usage of thin layer cytopathological techniques (Liquid Based Preparations = LBP) may enhance the diagnostic sensitivity by permitting immunocytochemical study without having to repeat the sampling procedure. The aim of this paper is to describe the cytomorphological presentation of primary vaginal melanoma on LBP since it has not previously been reported up to now, to our knowledge. Case presentation: a 79-y-o female complaining of vulvar itching and yellowish vaginal discharge underwent a complete gynaecological evaluation during which a LBP cytological sample was taken from a suspicious whitish mass protruding into the vaginal lumen. A cytopathological diagnosis of amelanotic melanoma was rendered. The mass was radically excised and the patient was treated with α-Interferon. Conclusion: amelanotic melanoma may be successfully diagnosed on LBP cytological preparations. Thin layer preparations may enhance the diagnostic cytomorphological clues to its diagnosis and may permit an adequate immunocytochemical characterization of the neoplasm. Case presentation A 79-y-o lady reported to the outpatient gynaecological ward of our Institution with a recent history of yellowish vaginal discharge and vulvar itching. She was a nonsmoker white Caucasian, gravida 6, para 2, with a past history of bilateral breast carcinoma in 1993 and 1994 (both pT1G2N0M0 ductal carcinomas), respectively treated with quadrantectomy with axillary dissection, radiotherapy and oral tamoxifen. At the time of consultation the patient took oral antidiabetics and anti hypertensive drugs. Her general conditions were satisfactory and her routine blood and urine tests were normal except blood glucose (120 mg/ml). Published: 3 July 2007 CytoJournal 2007, 4:14 doi:10.1186/1742-6413-4-14 Received: 19 March 2007 Accepted: 3 July 2007 This article is available from: http://www.cytojournal.com/content/4/1/14 © 2007 Fulciniti et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.