Email this article Leptomeningeal melanomatosis: a case report
- Authors: Fedorova D.M.1, Sokolova A.A.2, Popova O.A.2, Yarkina A.E.3, Svintsova A.V.3, Kochetova T.V.4, Raevskii K.P.5, Sheladev I.V.6
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Affiliations:
- Saint-Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University
- National Medical Research Center named after V.A. Almazov
- Military Medical Academy named after S.M. Kirov
- Academician I.P. Pavlov First St. Petersburg State Medical University
- Lomonosov Moscow State University
- 442 Military Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
- Issue: Vol 31, No 6 (2025)
- Pages: 587-597
- Section: Case reports
- URL: https://journals.rcsi.science/0869-2106/article/view/375540
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.17816/medjrf678808
- EDN: https://elibrary.ru/LFZOGA
- ID: 375540
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Leptomeningeal melanomatosis is a rare neoplasm of the central nervous system that develops as a result of non-metastatic invasion by malignant melanocytic cells. The disease poses significant diagnostic challenges due to a wide range of clinical manifestations, lack of specific laboratory markers, and absence of definitive neuroimaging findings. Particular attention should be given to differentiating leptomeningeal melanomatosis from other central nervous system disorders, infectious and neoplastic diseases of different origin, and metastases, given the similarities in clinical presentation and pathomorphological features.
CASE DESCRIPTION: A 20-year-old patient was diagnosed with leptomeningeal melanomatosis. Despite the absence of detectable melanoma in biopsy (surgical) specimens during antemortem pathological examination, the scientific data indicates that this does not preclude an aggressive clinical course following symptom onset. The report presents the patient’s clinical history and disease progression over one year, culminating in a fatal outcome.
CONCLUSION: This case illustrates the diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties associated with rare central nervous system disorders, particularly when the diagnosis remains unclear over a long period. The scarcity of reliable data on leptomeningeal melanomatosis, the rapid disease progression, and its high mortality make timely diagnosis extremely challenging.
About the authors
Diana M. Fedorova
Saint-Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University
Author for correspondence.
Email: di_time@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0009-0004-0470-9372
Russian Federation, Saint Petersburg
Alina A. Sokolova
National Medical Research Center named after V.A. Almazov
Email: alina.s.med@yandex.ru
ORCID iD: 0009-0006-3812-8968
Russian Federation, Saint Petersburg
Olga A. Popova
National Medical Research Center named after V.A. Almazov
Email: olya-popova-2001@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0009-0001-0089-4935
Russian Federation, Saint Petersburg
Arina E. Yarkina
Military Medical Academy named after S.M. Kirov
Email: yarkina.arina@list.ru
ORCID iD: 0009-0000-2905-4000
Russian Federation, Saint Petersburg
Anna V. Svintsova
Military Medical Academy named after S.M. Kirov
Email: svintsova.a@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0009-0004-3434-1652
Russian Federation, Saint Petersburg
Tatiana V. Kochetova
Academician I.P. Pavlov First St. Petersburg State Medical University
Email: kochetova_tanya10@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0009-0006-2081-0002
Russian Federation, Saint Petersbur
Kirill P. Raevskii
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Email: raevskiikp@my.msu.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9939-3443
SPIN-code: 9133-3802
MD
Russian Federation, MoscowIvan V. Sheladev
442 Military Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Email: ivan.sheladev@yandex.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5826-4055
Russian Federation, Saint Petersburg
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