Giant malignant melanoma: a case report

Malignant melanoma is an aggressive tumor of melanocytes whose primary function is producing melanin pigment. Though they vary according to the microscopical subtype, these tumors often arise in the sun-exposed skin of elderly individuals, in the acral regions and in the palms and soles of the hands and feet. A 56-year-old patient visited the emergency department of our hospital with complaints of a sudden hemorrhage from a mass on her left thigh which had appeared five months ago. On physical examination a brown-black mass with dimensions of 18 x 16 x 5 cm, protruding from the skin with a partially and actively hemorrhagic, ulcerated surface, was found on the left gluteal region. The mass was excised surgically with 3 cm safe surgical margins. Histopathologically the lesion was diagnosed as "nodular malignant melanoma - Clark level 5". A malignant melanoma of such a large size is very exceptional in the literature; thus it is presented here with its interesting rapid clinical course.