Primary pulmonary melanoma diagnosis: the role of immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry.

We report a rare case of a primary melanoma of the lung initially presenting with haemoptysis, which was diagnosed using 2 new immunohistochemistry markers and cytology with immunocytochemistry. A 67-year-old male underwent repeated major lung resections and died because of early recurrences of a primary pulmonary melanoma as detailed study excluded other primary foci. The diagnosis of the patient's last recurrence was achieved on a fine needle aspiration (FNA) specimen with immunocytochemistry. To the best of our knowledge this is the first case of primary pulmonary melanoma diagnosed by immunocytochemistry on FNA material.