Malignant Melanoma of the Vagina: A Report of 2 Cases.
- Author:
Ok Bae KIM
1
;
Jin Hee KIM
;
Young Yeon JUNG
;
Chi Heum CHO
;
Tae Jin CHOI
Author Information
1. Departments of Radiation Oncology, Dongsan Medical Center, School of Medicine, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea. obkim500@dsmc.or.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Malignant melanoma;
Vagina;
Radiation therapy
- MeSH:
Female;
Humans;
Melanoma*;
Prognosis;
Radiotherapy;
Recurrence;
Vagina*
- From:The Journal of the Korean Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology
2005;23(2):111-115
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
Primary malignant melanoma of the vagina is an extremely rare genital neoplasm occurring mainly in postmenopausal women. It has a worse prognosis than cutaneous melanomas, because of the high rate of loco- regional recurrences and rapid systemic dissemination. In the past, radical surgical extirpation as the primary management had been recommended to improve loco-regional control, and possibly overall survival. However, the prognosis was poor in spite of such a radical approache. Recently, more conservative treatment such as wide local excision combined with adjuvant high-dose fraction radiotherapy seems to have promising results. Primary radiation therapy could be served as an alternative to surgery for patients with lesion less than 3 cm in diameter. We report 2 cases of primary vaginal malignant melanoma treated with radiotherapy.
