Primary spinal melanoma:a case report and literature review

This case report describes a 44-year-old woman with primary spinal cord malignant melanoma localized in the lumbar region.This is a very rare lesion.The patient presented with back pain and slight weakness in her lower extremities. Magnetic resonance imaging showed hyperintense signals on T1-weighted images and hypointense signals on T2-weighted images.The entire tumor was removed surgically.The patient’s postoperative clinical examination revealed mild neurological improvements.Histopathological investigations confirmed the tumor was a malignant melanoma.When treating common lesions of the lumbar spinal cord with a benign appearance,surgeons should be aware of the potential for malignant tumors.