Background: Primary intramedullary melanoma is a very rare tumor, most frequently occurring in the cervical and thoracic spinal cord.
Case summary: We present a rare case in which the primary intramedullary melanoma was located in the lumbar spine. A 56-year-old man complained of progressive intermittent pain in the lumbar area. Thoracic magnetic resonance imaging showed a spinal intramedullary tumor between the L3 and S1 levels. The tumor was resected entirely, and the diagnosis of malignant melanoma was confirmed by histopathology.
Conclusion: Primary melanoma of the spinal cord, particularly intramedullary localization, has rarely been reported in the previous literature. We describe a primary malignant melanoma of the lumbar spinal cord and discuss the challenges associated with the diagnosis.
Keywords: Case report; Histopathological examination; Immunohistochemical staining; Intramedullary melanoma; Lumbar; Magnetic resonance imaging; Spinal cord.
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