Melanoma with regression and in-transit metastasis

Abstract

Introduction. Melanoma is an aggressive tumor with an increasing incidence worldwide. In-transit metastases represent a unique pattern of dissemination.

Case report. We report the case of a 42-year-old woman who presented with two lesions on the left latero-cervical region: a pigmented macule with irregular borders and colors and a firm, dome-shaped 5 mm nodule with an erythematous base and a black crust on top, at the periphery of the first lesion. The clinical picture supported the diagnosis of melanoma with in-transit metastasis, but the histopathology examination raised, initially, the problem of two primary melanomas: a superficial spreading melanoma and a minimal deviation melanoma.

Conclusions. Our case highlights the necessity of clinical and histopathological correlations in every case and the necessity of a good collaboration between the dermatologist and the pathologist.