%0 Journal Article
%T Melanoma of the Urinary Bladder: A Review of the Literature
%A Anthony Kodzo-Grey Venyo
%J Surgery Research and Practice
%D 2014
%R 10.1155/2014/605802
%X Background. Melanomas of the urinary bladder and urethra are rare. Aims. To review the literature on the disease. Methods. Various Internet databases were used to identify reported cases of the disease. Results. Less than 30 cases of primary melanoma of the urinary bladder and urethra have been reported in the literature and they have been associated with melanosis and commonly with metastases. The lesions may be primary or metastatic with no gender preference. The diagnostic features include pigmented raised lesions which histologically exhibit spindled or epitheliod cells, necrosis, mitotic figures, and atypical melanocytes. Immunohistochemically they stain positively with S100; HMB45; and other melanocyte markers, but negatively with Keratin and Vimentin. The treatment involves excision and possibly IL-2. The prognostic factors include size and depth of invasion as well as metastatic lesions. Conclusions. Less than 30 cases (about 24 cases) of the disease have been reported. There are also reports of metastatic melanomas of the urinary bladder emanating from primary melanomas originating elsewhere. Diagnosis of the primary disease is based upon the histological appearance of the lesion, positive staining with S100 and HMB45, and evidence of absence of melanoma elsewhere. Primary melanoma of the bladder is usually a fatal lesion. 1. Introduction Primary malignant melanoma of the genitourinary tract is a rare lesion, which most medical practitioners including urologists would never encounter in their working lives and its diagnosis may be difficult for most practitioners. The ensuing document has discussed various aspects of primary melanoma of the urinary bladder including the differential diagnoses. 2. Methods Various internet databases including Pub Med, Medline, Google Scholar, Google, and Educus were used to identify reported cases of melanoma of the urinary bladder in order to document the presentation, investigation, management, and treatment outcome of the disease. In all, 64 references were identified which were used to write the literature review. 3. Literature Review 3.1. Overview Definition. Primary melanoma tumours of the urinary bladder are rare and less than 50 cases have so far been reported in the literature [1]. Melanomas of the urinary bladder which are associated with melanosis and metastases are much common in melanoma of the urinary bladder [1]. Urinary bladder at times may be affected or involved by secondary/metastatic melanoma. Epidemiology. Melanoma occurs in patients who are aged between 44 years and 81 years old [1].
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/srp/2014/605802/