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Cutaneous malignant melanoma - presenting a case with a quirky and very aggressive form
Authors: Rumi Eugen Anghel-Savciu, Maria Vrabete, Florin Popa, Raluca Ciurea, Monica Tantu, Magdalena Diaconu
Number of views: 431
Malignant melanoma (MM) is the most severe and aggressive form of skin cancer, consisting of malignancy cells responsible for melanin synthesis. Its prevalence is low but with clear upward tendency, especially in whites, recognizing as the main risk factor the exposure to ultraviolet radiation type B. The prognosis is unfavourable, being influenced by the degree of depth invasion. Despite the therapeutic multidisciplinary approach, the survival is on average 6-8 months, whereas after 5 years the survival rate is less than 5% for MM stage IV. The presented case, a man aged 76 years with large malignant melanoma situated in the upper back, with multiple cutaneous metastases, falls into the latter category. Diagnosed late, he had an unfavourable surgery, dying 3 weeks after surgery, intraoperatively we found metastasis also at the level of the adipose tissue and partial muscular tissue.