Diagnosis and Pattern Identification of Intrathoracic Malignant Melanoma Metastasis: A Retrospective Single Center Analysis
Matteo Fontana,
Laura Rossi,
Federica Ghinassi,
Roberto Piro,
Chiara Scelfo,
Sofia Taddei,
Eleonora Casalini,
Patrizia Ruggiero,
Chiara Pollorsi,
Bianca Beghe’,
Caterina Longo,
Nicola Facciolongo
Affiliations
Matteo Fontana
Pulmonology Unit, Department of Medical Specialties, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale—IRCCS of Reggio Emilia, Viale Risorgimento 80, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Laura Rossi
Pulmonology Unit, Department of Medical Specialties, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale—IRCCS of Reggio Emilia, Viale Risorgimento 80, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Federica Ghinassi
Pulmonology Unit, Department of Medical Specialties, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale—IRCCS of Reggio Emilia, Viale Risorgimento 80, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Roberto Piro
Pulmonology Unit, Department of Medical Specialties, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale—IRCCS of Reggio Emilia, Viale Risorgimento 80, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Chiara Scelfo
Pulmonology Unit, Department of Medical Specialties, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale—IRCCS of Reggio Emilia, Viale Risorgimento 80, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Sofia Taddei
Pulmonology Unit, Department of Medical Specialties, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale—IRCCS of Reggio Emilia, Viale Risorgimento 80, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Eleonora Casalini
Pulmonology Unit, Department of Medical Specialties, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale—IRCCS of Reggio Emilia, Viale Risorgimento 80, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Patrizia Ruggiero
Pulmonology Unit, Department of Medical Specialties, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale—IRCCS of Reggio Emilia, Viale Risorgimento 80, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Chiara Pollorsi
Pulmonology Unit, Department of Medical Specialties, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale—IRCCS of Reggio Emilia, Viale Risorgimento 80, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Bianca Beghe’
Respiratory Diseases Unit, Department of Medical, Surgical, Maternal-Infantile and Adult Sciences, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria of Modena “Policlinico”, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Largo del Pozzo 71, 41124 Modena, Italy
Caterina Longo
Department of Surgery, Medicine, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences with Interest in Transplantation, Oncology and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Largo del Pozzo 71, 41124 Modena, Italy
Nicola Facciolongo
Pulmonology Unit, Department of Medical Specialties, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale—IRCCS of Reggio Emilia, Viale Risorgimento 80, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy
The lung is a frequent site of secondary malignancies. Melanoma is a malignant tumor originating from melanocytes, that accounts for the majority of death related to skin cancers. In advanced stages, it can also present with intrathoracic metastasis, particularly in the lungs, but infrequent intrathoracic manifestations are possible. A retrospective analysis of the cases referred to the pulmonary endoscopy unit of the hospital of Reggio Emilia in the last 10 years (since December 2012) was carried out, discovering 17 cases of melanoma metastasis with thoracic localizations, either with or without a diagnosis of primary melanoma. Four repetitive patterns of clinical-radiological presentation have been identified and described through the same number of paradigmatic clinical cases: nodal involvement (35%), lung mass(es) (41%), diffuse pulmonary involvement (12%), and pleural involvement (12%). These different presentations imply the use of different diagnostic techniques, with an overall high diagnostic yield (87.5%). Finally, a brief analysis of survival based on the pattern of presentation has been performed, finding no statistically significant differences between the four groups at metastasis diagnosis (p-value = 0.06, median survival of respectively 54, 8, 9, and 26 months from metastasis diagnosis), while there is a significant difference considering patients with lung involvement versus nodal/pleural involvement (p = 0.01).
