eMedicine Specialties > Neurology > Neuro-oncology

CNS Melanoma: Follow-up

Author: Sheila Au, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, University of British Columbia, Canada
Coauthor(s): Jason K Rivers, MD, FRCP(C), Clinical Professor, Department of Dermatology and Skin Science, University of British Columbia, Canada; Consulting Staff, Pacific Dermaesthetics; Frederick M Vincent, Sr, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Neurology and Ophthalmology, Michigan State University Colleges of Human and Osteopathic Medicine
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Sep 5, 2006

Follow-up

Further Inpatient Care

  • Inpatient care may be required for patients who require evaluation, surgery, or palliative radiotherapy.
  • Palliative care should include the following:
    • Attention to pain
    • Emotional and spiritual support
    • Nonsurgical treatment of symptoms of increased intracranial pressure (ie, steroids)

Further Outpatient Care

  • The patient usually can be monitored on an outpatient basis.

Complications

  • Secondary CNS melanoma is uniformly fatal. Death usually results because of increased intracranial pressure or destruction of vital brain tissue. The deterioration can be insidious or acute.
  • Focal neurological signs are very common and may lead to significant morbidity.
  • Patients may present with sudden catastrophic neurological events from hemorrhage into a tumor.

Prognosis

  • Relentless progression of clinical signs and symptoms is seen in most patients once they present with evidence of CNS disease.
  • Patients with solitary brain metastases, no lung or visceral metastases, and patients whose brain metastases were present upon diagnosis have a more favorable prognosis.
  • Patients with concomitant visceral disease have a worse prognosis.
  • Long-term survival has been described in patients who have had surgical resection of a single metastatic tumor.
  • Median overall survival is 3.8 months.
 


More on CNS Melanoma

Overview: CNS Melanoma
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: CNS Melanoma
Treatment & Medication: CNS Melanoma
Follow-up: CNS Melanoma
References
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Further Reading

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Keywords

intracerebral melanoma, intracerebral metastatic melanoma, metastatic melanoma, central nervous system melanoma, central nervous system cancer, CNS cancer, brain cancer, brain melanoma

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Sheila Au, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, University of British Columbia, Canada
Sheila Au, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Society for Pediatric Dermatology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Jason K Rivers, MD, FRCP(C), Clinical Professor, Department of Dermatology and Skin Science, University of British Columbia, Canada; Consulting Staff, Pacific Dermaesthetics
Jason K Rivers, MD, FRCP(C) is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, British Columbia Medical Association, Canadian Dermatology Association, Canadian Medical Association, Pacific Dermatologic Association, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and Women's Dermatologic Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Frederick M Vincent, Sr, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Neurology and Ophthalmology, Michigan State University Colleges of Human and Osteopathic Medicine
Frederick M Vincent, Sr, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Neurology, American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine, American Clinical Neurophysiology Society, American College of Forensic Examiners, American College of Legal Medicine, American College of Physicians, American Federation for Medical Research, American Heart Association, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Neurorehabilitation, and Michigan State Medical Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Norman C Reynolds Jr, MD, Professor, Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin
Norman C Reynolds Jr, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Neurology, American Chemical Society, American Clinical Neurophysiology Society, Association of Military Surgeons of the US, Movement Disorders Society, Sigma Xi, and Society for Neuroscience
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Managing Editor

Jorge Kattah, MD, Head, Program Director, Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria
Jorge Kattah, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Neurology, American Neurological Association, and New York Academy of Sciences
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

Selim R Benbadis, MD, Professor, Director of Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University of South Florida School of Medicine, Tampa General Hospital
Selim R Benbadis, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Neurology, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, American Clinical Neurophysiology Society, American Epilepsy Society, and American Medical Association
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Nicholas Y Lorenzo, MD, Chief Editor, eMedicine Neurology; Consulting Staff, Neurology Specialists and Consultants
Nicholas Y Lorenzo, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha and American Academy of Neurology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

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