Malignant melanoma metastatic to the ovary

The diagnosis of malignant melanoma metastatic to the ovary is rarely made in living patients. A case of malignant melanoma metastatic to one ovary, skin of both axillae, and brain occurring 7 years after wide local excision of the primary cutaneous lesion on the patient's back is described. The patient had total abdominal hysterectomy, bilataral salpingo-oophorectomy, infracolic omentectomy, and selective pelvic retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy, followed by whole brain irradiation and chemoimmunotherapy. This case illustrates the clinical variability and unpredictable biologic behavior of malignant melanoma and it is concluded that malignant melanoma metastatic to the ovary should be suspected in any patient who presents with an adnexal mass and has a history of malignant melanoma. (C) 1998 Academic Press.