DEN Open (Apr 2024)

Superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with melanocytosis that was endoscopically difficult to differentiate from malignant melanoma

  • Yoshinori Horikawa,
  • Kenichi Goda,
  • Ryota Koyanagi,
  • Masayuki Kondo,
  • Keiichiro Abe,
  • Akira Kanamori,
  • Koichi Hamada,
  • Kazuyuki Ishida,
  • Atsushi Irisawa

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/deo2.353
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 4, no. 1
pp. n/a – n/a

Abstract

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Abstract Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with dark spots caused by melanocytosis is very rare. A reddish and flat lesion, 4 cm in length and covering over two‐thirds of the circumference, was found in the midthoracic esophagus of a 66‐year‐old male. Multiple brown and black spots are observed in the lesion. Superficial SCC with melanocytosis or malignant melanoma was also suspected. Endoscopic submucosal dissection was performed without biopsies of the spots. Histologically, a few melanocytes were observed in the black spots, and the lesion was diagnosed as SCC (T1a‐lamina propria mucosae) with melanocytosis. We report a case of esophageal SCC with dark black spots that were difficult to differentiate endoscopically from malignant melanoma.

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