Treatment of primary vaginal malignant melanoma and review of previous literature: A case report

Abstract

Introduction: Primary vaginal malignant melanoma is a rare gynecological malignant tumor with high malignancy and poor prognosis. Because of its insidious incidence, it is generally diagnosed in the late stage, and the 5-year survival rate is only 5% to 25%. Due to the rarity of this disease and the limited number of related cases reported in the literature, there is currently no unified standard for its diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, the treatment of this disease has always been a difficult problem in clinical practice. Patient concerns: A 56-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with discomfort in the lower abdomen. Diagnosis: The final diagnosis of this patient was vaginal malignant melanoma (T4N1M0). Interventions: The patient underwent extensive hysterectomy, bilateral adnexectomy, pelvic lymph node resection, and total vaginectomy. Following the surgery, the patient received adjuvant chemotherapy. Outcomes: The patient was followed up regularly. No recurrence or metastasis has been reported to date. Conclusion: The treatment of primary vaginal malignant melanoma is still dominated by surgery, while radiotherapy and chemotherapy are controversial. Immunotherapy and targeted therapy highlight certain advantages in advanced patients, which still need to be verified by large sample studies, We provide a case of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for vaginal malignant melanoma. So far, no signs of disease recurrence have been found. As the price of chemotherapy drugs decreases, it is economically convenient and acceptable for most patients, but its effectiveness needs to be observed in large-scale clinical trials.