Metastases of malignant melanoma to the skin of abdomen and thorax mimicking herpes zoster infection – case report

Introduction. Melanoma is a malignant neoplasm of melanocytic origin. The risk of melanoma among the white race in Europe and USA is from 1/100 000 to 1/200 000.

Objective. To present a case with multiple melanoma metastases to the skin of the thorax and abdomen with an atypical clinical picture mimicking herpes zoster infection.

Case report . Male patient 77 years old. The primary lesion – a dark brown nodule, 2 cm in diameter – appeared half a year earlier. Under local anaesthesia, the nodule was removed with a 3 cm skin margin. Two months later, multiple, non-painful, brown nodules appeared on the left part of the chest and abdomen and were diagnosed as herpes zoster. The histopathological examination revealed melanoma metastases.

Conclusions. We present a case of very fast appearance of malignant melanoma metastases, resembling herpes zoster infection. Although such a picture is rare, it is important to take this diagnosis into account in patients with “zoster” with no pain, resistant to antiviral treatment, and especially in patients with known melanoma history.