Introduction

Malignant melanoma is a life-threatening disease characterized by highly aggressive biological behavior and often metastases to regional lymph nodes, lungs, and also spread distantly to other organs.

Objectives

We report an advances clinical case of malignant melanoma that metastasized to brain and other organs and describe diagnostic tools that aid ante-mortem diagnosis.

Methods

A fourteen-year-old, male, crossbred had a malignant melanoma removed from the lip and neck that distant metastasis was not detected. Thirty days later the dog came with acute neurological deficits, disoriented, and compulsive walking. The clinical sign had progressed rapidly to tetraparesis, head turn and cranial nerve deficits. Chest radiograph revealed diffuse pulmonary metastases. CT scanning showed brain edema with multiple masses and multiple nodules throughout lung field. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed a small hypoechoic nodule presented at spleen. The dog was treated with prednisolone and mannitol to relieve brain edema. Clinical sign was improved for a short period and progressively worsened and died from respiratory arrest.

Figure 1 Showed multiple black nodules were noted at omental fat, kidney, spleen, myocardium, lung, and brain.

Results

Multiple black nodules were noted at omental fat, kidney, intercostal muscle, myocardium, lung, eye, and brain. A microscopic examination revealed a spindle to polyhedral shape of neoplastic cell that had prominent vesicular nuclei located at the center. Some of these cells contained brown-pigmented granules in their cytoplasm. Histopathologic findings were diagnosed as metastatic malignant melanoma.

Conclusions

We demonstrated a rare case of disseminated metastatic of oral malignant melanoma that metastasized to brain, uvea, and other organs. An investigation of the metastatic site of malignant melanoma could provide information for a further diagnosis and monitoring.