[Primary intracranial melanoma: a case report]

A rare case of primary intracranial melanoma is presented in a 34-year-old man with initial symptoms of persistent headache. In magnetic resonance imaging(MRI), this case had all the characteristic findings of intracranial melanoma which had been reported previously. In 123I-iodoamphetamine-single photon emission CT (123I-IMP-SPECT), abnormal accumulation of 123I-IMP was recognized in early and late phase imaging, which was very specific to the lesion. This is the first report of 123I-IMP-SPECT performed on a primary intracranial melanoma. Tumor mass originated from pia mater was surgically resected, but the dissemination of tumor cells was recognized macroscopically. Pathological examination of the specimen showed very little malignant changes of melanoma cells, which was in contrast to the previous reports. Although, no standard chemotherapy of the primary intracranial melanoma has been established, DAV therapy to the dissemination of tumor cells into the subarachnoid space, and intravenous administration of interferon-beta were performed in this case. Methods of differential diagnosis and treatments of primary intracranial melanoma are reviewed and discussed.