Malignant melanomas in anorectal region: report of four cases

After the skin and eyes, the third most frequently encountered location of melanoma is the anorectal region. The aim of this study was to review our experience about anorectal malignant melanoma and share the results with other colleagues. The medical records of the patients treated for malignant melanoma in our clinic between 1998 and 2008 were retrospectively reviewed. Three of the four patients were male. The mean age of the patients was 54.75 years (45-64). All patients were admitted with rectal bleeding. Three of the patients died due to disseminated disease in the first two years. Early detection is crucial in oncological surgery in order to achieve a curative resection. Despite all of the therapeutic efforts, primary anorectal malignant melanoma is a rare and aggressive neoplasm associated with an extremely poor prognosis, usually because of a delay in the diagnosis period.