Late recurrence of malignant melanoma presenting with hemoptysis

Abstract

After a disease-free period of 10 years, a surgically treated case of cutaneous malignant melanoma is usually not followed up further and there is a tendency to assume that the disease is cured. Late recurrence (after 10 years) of cutaneous malignant melanoma, though infrequent, has been documented well in Western countries. In our country, the malignant melanoma is still considered uncommon and there is no data regarding its late recurrence. We report a case of pulmonary malignant melanoma as a late metastatic manifestation of primary plantar malignant melanoma in a 61-year-old man who presented with hemoptysis; metastatic malignant melanoma of the lung occurred 12 years after resection of primary malignant melanoma of sole of the right foot.