Primary malignant melanoma of the cervix: 14 cases and literature overview.

ABSTRACT

Primary malignant melanoma of the cervix (PMMC) is a rare and aggressive tumor. Studies on clinicopathological findings, treatment outcomes, and prognostic factors of this disease are lacking. We reviewed 14 cases of PMMC recorded from January 1972 to February 2017 at the Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital. Twelve (85.7%) of the 14 patients presented a history of vaginal bleeding and 11 (78.6%) underwent surgery. The overall survival was 3-70 months, with a median time of 13.7 months. Patients who underwent surgery (P=0.035) had high survival rates, whereas those with lymph node metastasis and late International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage had poor survival rates, but did not show a significant difference (P=0.187 and 0.053, respectively) compared with those without node metastasis and early International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage. PMMC is a highly aggressive tumor with a poor prognosis. Surgical resection is the main treatment of choice for PMMC.