Balloon Cell Melanoma

Song, Byong Han; Cho, Eun Byul; Park, Eun Joo; Kwon, In Ho; Kim, Kwang Ho; Kim, Kwang Joong

Abstract

Balloon cell melanoma, an uncommon histopathological variant of malignant melanoma, was first described by Gardner and Vazquez in 1970. This condition is histopathologically characterized by the presence of balloon cells with varying sizes and atypical nuclei. An 84-year-old woman presented with a solitary, dome-shaped, walnut-sized, brownish nodule on the posterior aspect of the left ear with bleeding, having only detected the nodule 2 weeks prior. Histopathologically, the lobulated tumor mass revealed copious melanin pigment and many balloon cells with clear cytoplasm, atypical nuclei, and variable size. Immunohistochemically, the tumor mass showed positive reaction to S-100 protein and HMB 45 staining. We herein report a typical case of balloon cell melanoma, which developed primarily on the skin.