Sudden Death from Primary Cerebral Melanoma: Clinical Signs and Pathological Observations
Primary cerebral tumors rarely provoke sudden death. The incidence is often underestimated with reported frequencies in the range of 0.02 to 2.1% in medicolegal autopsy series. Furthermore, primary cerebral melanoma is an uncommon neoplasm. It represents approximately 1% of all melanoma cases and 0....
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/3/341 |
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| author | Alfonso Maiellaro Antonio Perna Pasquale Giugliano Massimiliano Esposito Giuseppe Vacchiano |
| author_facet | Alfonso Maiellaro Antonio Perna Pasquale Giugliano Massimiliano Esposito Giuseppe Vacchiano |
| author_sort | Alfonso Maiellaro |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Primary cerebral tumors rarely provoke sudden death. The incidence is often underestimated with reported frequencies in the range of 0.02 to 2.1% in medicolegal autopsy series. Furthermore, primary cerebral melanoma is an uncommon neoplasm. It represents approximately 1% of all melanoma cases and 0.07% of all brain tumors. This neoplasm is very aggressive, and its annual incidence is about 1 in 10 million people. In the present study, a 20-year-old male was admitted to hospital with vomiting, headache, paresthesia and aggressive behavior. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the head was performed showing a hyperdense nodule in the right parietal lobe with inflammation of the Silvian fissure. A complete autopsy was performed 48 h after death. A blackish material was displayed on the skull base, and posterior fossa. Microscopic examination diagnosed primary brain melanoma. A systematic review of the literature was also performed where no previous analogous cases were found. The forensic pathologist rarely encounters primary cerebral melanoma, and for these reasons, it seemed appropriate to describe this case as presenting aspecific clinical symptoms and leading to sudden unexpected death. Histopathological observations are reported and discussed to explain this surprising sudden death caused by a primary cerebral melanoma. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:08:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aa4d3b9b5f1b49e19940db398f71a4cf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:08:54Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-aa4d3b9b5f1b49e19940db398f71a4cf2023-11-21T10:54:14ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322021-03-019334110.3390/healthcare9030341Sudden Death from Primary Cerebral Melanoma: Clinical Signs and Pathological ObservationsAlfonso Maiellaro0Antonio Perna1Pasquale Giugliano2Massimiliano Esposito3Giuseppe Vacchiano4Legal Medicine Department, A. Cardarelli Hospital, 80131 Naples, ItalyPathology Unit, Mauro Scarlato Hospital, 84018 Scafati, ItalyAORN Sant’Anna e San Sebastiano di Caserta, 81100 San Sebastiano, ItalyLegal Medicine, Department of Medical, Surgical and Advanced Technologies, “G.F. Ingrassia”, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Law, University of Sannio, 82100 Benevento, ItalyPrimary cerebral tumors rarely provoke sudden death. The incidence is often underestimated with reported frequencies in the range of 0.02 to 2.1% in medicolegal autopsy series. Furthermore, primary cerebral melanoma is an uncommon neoplasm. It represents approximately 1% of all melanoma cases and 0.07% of all brain tumors. This neoplasm is very aggressive, and its annual incidence is about 1 in 10 million people. In the present study, a 20-year-old male was admitted to hospital with vomiting, headache, paresthesia and aggressive behavior. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the head was performed showing a hyperdense nodule in the right parietal lobe with inflammation of the Silvian fissure. A complete autopsy was performed 48 h after death. A blackish material was displayed on the skull base, and posterior fossa. Microscopic examination diagnosed primary brain melanoma. A systematic review of the literature was also performed where no previous analogous cases were found. The forensic pathologist rarely encounters primary cerebral melanoma, and for these reasons, it seemed appropriate to describe this case as presenting aspecific clinical symptoms and leading to sudden unexpected death. Histopathological observations are reported and discussed to explain this surprising sudden death caused by a primary cerebral melanoma.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/3/341primary cerebral melanomasudden deathclinical signspathological observations |
| spellingShingle | Alfonso Maiellaro Antonio Perna Pasquale Giugliano Massimiliano Esposito Giuseppe Vacchiano Sudden Death from Primary Cerebral Melanoma: Clinical Signs and Pathological Observations Healthcare primary cerebral melanoma sudden death clinical signs pathological observations |
| title | Sudden Death from Primary Cerebral Melanoma: Clinical Signs and Pathological Observations |
| title_full | Sudden Death from Primary Cerebral Melanoma: Clinical Signs and Pathological Observations |
| title_fullStr | Sudden Death from Primary Cerebral Melanoma: Clinical Signs and Pathological Observations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sudden Death from Primary Cerebral Melanoma: Clinical Signs and Pathological Observations |
| title_short | Sudden Death from Primary Cerebral Melanoma: Clinical Signs and Pathological Observations |
| title_sort | sudden death from primary cerebral melanoma clinical signs and pathological observations |
| topic | primary cerebral melanoma sudden death clinical signs pathological observations |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/3/341 |
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