Malignant melanoma of the vagina

Rahat ARA, Saw OHNMAR,

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, RIPAS Hospital, Brunei Darussalam

ABSTRACT

Carcinoma of the vagina is uncommon and only constitutes two percent of malignant neoplasms of the female genital tract. Malignant melanoma of the vagina is rarer and accounts for only 3.2% of all vaginal cancers. It presumably arises from melanocytes found in the vagina of three percent of normal women. It is a very aggressive tumour and the overall prognosis is poor despite the treatment. We report the case of an 81-year-old woman who presented with per vagina bleeding secondary to a malignant melanoma of the vagina. She was treated with radiotherapy as her disease was locally extensive and she was not a candidate for pelvis exenteration. This is the first recorded case of malignant melanoma to be diagnosed in Brunei Darussalam.

Keywords: Female genital tract, Malignant melanoma, prognosis, pelvic exenteration, radiotherapy

Correspondence author: Rahat ARA, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, RIPAS Hospital, Bandar Seri Begawan BA 1710, Brunei Darussalam.

Tel: +673 8671072 or +673 2232024

E mail: rahatara@yahoo.com

Brunei Int Med J. 2011; 7 (5): 294-298