[Primary malignant melanoma of the small intestine--a case report]

Small bowel neoplasms are very rare and can be found in 1-2% of all gastrointestinal tumors. Most of them have metastatic origin. Malignant melanoma is the most common tumor metastatic to the GI tract. Primary malignant melanomas arising from the small intestine are very rarely but therefore are some case reports in the literature. Some authors stated that melanomas are never primary in the intestinal tract. Others try to explain the primary etiology. The most famous theory for its origin is the APUD cell concept. When a small bowel tumor is suspected, enteroclysis is the most useful imaging study. Herein we report the case of a primary malignant melanoma of the small bowel.