Cutaneous melanoma single metastasis to the pancreas: Results of combined treatment with surgical resection and immunotherapy

Metastatic melanoma to the pancreas was first described in 1931. Pancreatic metastasis occurs commonly in patients with diffuse disease with solitary metastasis being quite rare. The role of pancreatic metastasectomy in patients with malignant melanoma is currently not defined because there are very few available reports. The case is reviewed of a 54-year-old male patient with a history of left thigh Stage IIIC malignant nodular melanoma. After 11-month follow-up, a single metastasis to the head of the pancreas was detected. To improve our understanding on these lesions, a case treated with pancreatic resection in our hospital is described. Here, clinical features of presentation, treatment and follow-up are discussed, along with a literature review. Most authors recommend surgery as the treatment of choice for pancreatic metastases that are amenable to resection since it appears to be the only treatment able to prolong survival, although there are no large studies fully demonstrating this assumption. This review suggests that, in a patient with favorable tumor characteristics, surgery should be considered a viable treatment option, but studies have to be conducted with larger numbers of patients.