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Abstract

Cutaneous melanoma is found in the head and neck in 15% of patients, in the limbs in 22%, in the trunk in 40% and in occult sites in 16%. There is usually an interval of at least 3 years between the diagnosis of primary melanoma and the identification of metastases. Primary melanoma metastasizes most frequently to the lymph nodes (73.6% cases) and the lungs (71.3% cases). The small intestine and the spleen are the sites of 36.5% and 30.6% respectively of the gastrointestinal metastases from melanoma. The cases reported provide evidence of the effect radical resection in patients with gastrointestinal metastases can have on survival. The cases and a review of the literature suggest that a careful and multidisciplinary follow-up is of crucial importance since it is the only means of identifying metastases when they can be still cured with surgical treatment.

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