Primary gastric melanoma presenting as a nonhealing ulcer

Abstract

Malignant melanoma most commonly arises in the skin, but primary melanoma can also arise from the mucosa of the GI tract. The vast majority of GI melanomas are metastases from a cutaneous primary tumor. Melanoma of the stomach is a rarity among primary melanomas. Reported here is the case of a patient with a primary gastric melanoma who presented with a nonhealing gastric ulcer. To our knowledge, this is the first case of a primary gastric melanoma reported from the United States.