Long-term Survival after Metastatic Childhood Melanoma

• Main Authors: Anne Kristine Larsen, MD, Mette Bybjerg Jensen, MD, Christen Krag, MD; PhD
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer 2014-06-01
• Series: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Global Open
• Online Access: http://journals.lww.com/prsgo/Fulltext/2014/06000/Article.12.aspx

Summary: Malignant melanoma in children is very rare and accounts for only 1–3% of all melanomas. A congenital melanocytic nevus depending on the size of the lesion is one of the risk factors for developing childhood melanoma because of the possible malignant transformation. Childhood malignant melanoma is a potentially fatal disease. Surgical excision is the primary treatment of choice for malignant melanoma. Clinicians need to be aware of the possible malignant transformation in children with congenital melanocytic nevus because early diagnosis and treatment improves prognosis. The suspicion of malign melanoma must be in mind when evaluating a pigmented lesion in a pediatric patient. We present a case of a patient born with a congenital nevus diagnosed with metastatic childhood malignant scalp melanoma at the age of 6 years. The patient underwent surgical ablation and reconstruction and has survived 26 years without recurrence, thus representing an uplifting case of long-term survival of childhood melanoma.