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Giant Scalp Metastasis: an Unusual Presentation of Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma

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Abstract

Cutaneous metastases from primary malignant melanoma of the skin are fairly common. However, distant cutaneous metastasis to the scalp is unusual. We present a case of giant scalp metastasis secondary to primary cutaneous nodular malignant melanoma of the heel in the setting of disseminated disease. Majority of melanomas occurring over the feet are acral lentiginous type, nodular melanomas being extremely uncommon. An association of a rare site of primary nodular melanoma with a rare site of metastases makes this case extremely unusual and, hence, worth reporting. Besides the atypical and rare manifestation of a common disease, the main aim of presenting this report is to highlight that scalp metastasis may rarely be the initial presentation of an occult cutaneous melanoma, and in such cases, a thorough head-to-toe cutaneous examination is essential to identify the primary lesion. Although prognosis of metastatic cutaneous melanoma is poor, awareness about the aggressive course of such lesions will assist clinicians in prompt diagnosis and early initiation of palliative treatment options.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Lady Hardinge Medical College & Smt. Sucheta Kriplani Hospital, New Delhi, 110051, India

    Rigved Gupta, Manoj Andley, Sudipta Saha & Ajay Kumar

Authors
  1. Rigved Gupta
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  2. Manoj Andley
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  3. Sudipta Saha
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  4. Ajay Kumar
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Contributions

Rigved Gupta: Conceptualization, design, definition of intellectual content, clinical evaluation & treatment, literature search, manuscript preparation, editing & review, guarantor.

Manoj Andley: Conceptualization, design, definition of intellectual content, clinical evaluation & treatment, manuscript editing & review.

Sudipta Saha: Conceptualization, design, definition of intellectual content, clinical evaluation & treatment, manuscript editing & review.

Ajay Kumar: Conceptualization, design, definition of intellectual content, clinical evaluation & treatment, manuscript editing & review.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rigved Gupta.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Informed Consent

The authors confirm that an informed consent was obtained from the patient’s attendant for this case report and its publication (the patient was too sick for the same). None of the images used disclose the identity of the subject in any form and patient anonymity has been maintained at all places in the text.

Ethical Statement

An ethical approval was not necessary as this was a retrospective review of a clinical case and not experimental research data.

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Gupta, R., Andley, M., Saha, S. et al. Giant Scalp Metastasis: an Unusual Presentation of Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma. Indian J Surg 83, 338–340 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12262-020-02368-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12262-020-02368-8

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