A case of primary amelanotic melanoma of the vagina / 대한산부인과학회지

ABSTRACT

Primary malignant melanoma of the vagina is extremely rare, accounting for 3% of all primary malignant tumor of the vagina and 0.3~1% of all malignant melanomas in the female. The amelanotic melanoma of the vagina showing no melanin granules on histological examination is exceedingly rare, accounting for only about 10% of all melanoma of the vagina. The amelanotic melanoma of the vagina is often difficult to differentiate from non-epithelial malignant tumor because of the minimal number of melanin granules. We describe a case of primary amelanotic melanoma of the vagina, which was initially suspected to be a non-epithelial malignant tumor, especially malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST), but was correctly diagnosed by HMB-45 antibody and S-100 protein immunohistochemical staining. So we present this case with a brief review of literature.