Primary malignant melanoma of the male urethra. Case report and discussion of the literature

: We report the case of a 77-year-old man who presented with a polypoid tumor in the distal urethra. It was excised, and a histological diagnosis of malignant melanoma was made. The patient had no history of previous cutaneous biopsies or suspicious pigmented lesions; therefore, the melanoma was considered to be primary in the urethra. The patient declined therapy and died 28 months later with local tumor progression. The autopsy revealed a widespread metastatic disease. The male urethra is rarely the primary site of a malignant melanoma. This event has so far been described in about 45 patients. The case is discussed in view of the pertinent literature.