Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2026
A 3D Organotypic Melanoma Spheroid Skin Model
Published on: May 18, 2018
Tonsil metastasis from cutaneous melanoma: first clinical sign of recurrence after complete lymph node dissection
Roberto Cecchi1, Mario Pavesi, Pierantonio Calamandrei
1Department of Dermatology, Pistoia Hospital, Pistoia, Italy. r.cecchi@usl3.toscana.it
Background:
The development of melanoma metastasis to the palatine tonsil is a very rare event, generally associated with advanced-stage disease and poor prognosis.
Case Presentation:
A 29-year-old man presented with a melanoma metastasis to the right palatine tonsil 6 months after the surgical excision of an ulcerated nodular melanoma (tumor thickness 1.8 mm, Clark level IV) on the left shoulder. A metastatic sentinel lymph node had been removed from the left axilla, and a subsequent complete lymph node dissection had disclosed no further metastatic lymph nodes. Although staging tests had revealed multiple visceral metastases, a palliative tonsillectomy was performed. The patient died of metastases 5 months later.
Conclusion:
The case presentation suggests that careful examination of the head and neck should be part of the routine follow-up visit in all melanoma patients.
