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Primary diffuse leptomeningeal melanomatosis: report of three pediatric cases and review of the literature

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Summary

Primary diffuse leptomeningeal melanomatosis is a rare and very aggressive neoplasm with only 6 pediatric cases reported so far. Recognizing this condition is unfortunately difficult due to the nonspecific clinical presentation. Nevertheless, imaging may help in a timely diagnosis that can better direct the management of these patients, especially in the light of the rapidly ominous course of the pathology. We describe three cases of pediatric primary diffuse leptomeningeal melanomatosis and review the literature regarding this entity, focusing on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings.

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Abbreviations

CNS:

Central nervous system

CSF:

Cerebrospinal fluid

CT:

Computed tomography

DWI:

Diffusion-weighted imaging

FLAIR:

Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

PDLM:

Primary diffuse leptomeningeal melanomatosis

SWI:

Susceptibility-weighted imaging

WHO:

World Health Organization

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II”, Via Pansini, 5, 80131, Naples, Italy

    Giovanna Pezzullo MD, Lorenzo Ugga, Renato Cuocolo & Teresa Perillo

  2. Radiology Department, “Tortorella” Private Hospital, Salerno, Italy

    Alessandra D’Amico

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  1. Giovanna Pezzullo MD
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Correspondence to Giovanna Pezzullo MD.

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G. Pezzullo, L. Ugga, R. Cuocolo, T. Perillo and A. D’Amico declare that they have no competing interests.

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Pezzullo, G., Ugga, L., Cuocolo, R. et al. Primary diffuse leptomeningeal melanomatosis: report of three pediatric cases and review of the literature. memo 14, 265–272 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12254-021-00720-6

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