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Anorectal Melanoma—Brownish Black Mass Not Always a Hemorrhoid

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Abstract

The non-specific clinical symptoms of anorectal brownish-black mass do not help to differentiate colorectal cancer, hemorrhoids, rectal ulcers which result in a delayed diagnosis or lead to inadequate management of lethal anorectal melanoma. Primary malignant melanoma of the anorectal region is an uncommon tumor, constituting approximately 1% of anal canal tumors which may be misdiagnosed clinically as hemorrhoids. Because of aggressive behavior and poor prognosis, efficient and prompt diagnosis is required in these cases. We report 2 cases of this rare tumor.

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Contributions

Drafting of the manuscript: Jitendra Singh Nigam, Avinash Singh, Nishit, Prerna Tewari. Literature search: Tarun Kumar, Jitendra Singh Nigam, Avinash Singh, Nishit, Prerna Tewari. Case acquisition: Jitendra Singh Nigam, Nishit, Avinash Singh, Tarun Kumar, Jagjit Kumar Pandey. Case analysis and interpretation: Avinash Singh, Prerna Tewari, Jitendra Singh Nigam, Nishit. Manuscript preparation: Jitendra Singh Nigam, Avinash Singh, Nishit, Prerna Tewari. Manuscript editing: Tarun Kumar, Jitendra Singh Nigam, Jagjit Kumar Pandey. Manuscript review and approval: Tarun Kumar, Jitendra Singh Nigam, Jagjit Kumar Pandey, Avinash Singh, Nishit, Prerna Tewari.

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Correspondence to Jitendra Singh Nigam.

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Nigam, J.S., Nishit, Kumar, T. et al. Anorectal Melanoma—Brownish Black Mass Not Always a Hemorrhoid. J Gastrointest Canc 53, 825–829 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-021-00678-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-021-00678-y

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