Question:
I am curious. Has anyone been diagnosed with a malignant melanoma shortly
after a hepatitis b (or other) vaccine? Has anyone had it in the lymph
nodes, without first having a skin cancer? Has anyone had the cells
"cultured out", only to find that they had been misdiagnosed(ie, it was
NOT malignant melanoma?) I am curious, because of a situation with my 16
year old daughter. I would appreciate email on these subjects
Answer:
While uncommon, malignant melanoma is well known to present as
metastatic deposits (lung, brain, lymph nodes, etc) without an obvious
primary. Most cases of malignant melanoma are easily diagnosed do to the
presence of pigment (melanin) but rare cases of amelanotic melanoma
require special stains to diagnose.
Malignant melanoma is uncommon in a young person and, if there is any
question about the diagnosis, the pathology should be independently
reviewed.
