Malignant Melanoma Misdiagnosed as a Diabetic Foot Ulcer
Malignant Melanoma Misdiagnosed as a Diabetic Foot Ulcer
Malignant melanoma, although rare, is a skin cancer with the highest mortality. This report presents a 55-year-old man who had been followed-up for diabetes mellitus for 14 years, and was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma that had developed on the base of a diabetic foot ulcer. The major common characteristic of malignant melanomas misdiagnosed as foot ulcer in the literature was that these cases have a very aggressive course, and metastasize in a short time. Thus, early biopsy is required in painful, pigmented foot ulcers with atypical localization that do not respond to standard treatment in patients with diabetes.
Presentation
Malignant melanoma, although rare, is a skin cancer with the highest mortality. This report presents a 55-year-old man who had been followed-up for diabetes mellitus for 14 years, and was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma that had developed on the base of a diabetic foot ulcer. The major common characteristic of malignant melanomas misdiagnosed as foot ulcer in the literature was that these cases have a very aggressive course, and metastasize in a short time. Thus, early biopsy is required in painful, pigmented foot ulcers with atypical localization that do not respond to standard treatment in patients with diabetes.
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