Local injection of interferon beta in malignant melanoma of the esophagus as adjuvant of systemic pre- and postoperative DAV chemotherapy: case report with 7 years of long-term survival.

摘要

Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus (PMME) is a very rare and deadly disease. We report a case of a 64-year-old Japanese woman who was diagnosed by histology, after endoscopy, as having a primary malignant melanoma. A novel approach that consisted of pre- and postoperative dacarbazine-nimustine-vincristine (DAV)-feron therapy with dacarbazine (DTIC), nimustine (ACNU), vincristine (VCR), and interferon beta (INF-beta), in conjunction with radical esophagectomy, was used. The tumor invaded the sub-mucosal layer, with cervical-node involvement. During a postoperative 7 years of follow-up, no evidence of local recurrence or metastasis was found. The possibility that the combination of chemo-feron therapy, including endo-scopic local injection and radical esophagectomy, will improve the prognosis for patients with PMME is suggested.