Primary melanocytic tumors of the CNS

Last revised by Yuranga Weerakkody on 4 Apr 2018

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Gaillard F, Weerakkody Y, Primary melanocytic tumors of the CNS. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 05 May 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-52956

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-52956

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/52956

rID:

52956

Article created:

27 Apr 2017, Frank Gaillard ◉ ◈

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Frank Gaillard had no recorded disclosures.

View Frank Gaillard's current disclosures

Last revised:

4 Apr 2018, Yuranga Weerakkody ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Yuranga Weerakkody had no recorded disclosures.

View Yuranga Weerakkody's current disclosures

Revisions:

2 times, by 2 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Central Nervous System

Synonyms:

Primary melanocytic tumours of CNS
Primary melanocytic CNS tumours
Primary melanocytic tumors of the CNS
Primary melanocytic CNS tumors

Primary melanocytic tumors of the central nervous system are a group of related neoplasms of variable aggressiveness which are thought to arise from leptomeningeal melanocytes which are of neural crest origin. Under the current (2016) WHO classification of CNS tumors, four entities are recognized ¹:

Primary melanocytic tumors should not be confused with melanocytic variants of other tumors (e.g. melanotic meningioma, melanotic schwannoma). Occasional melanization is also encountered in gliomas, medulloblastomas and paragangliomas ¹.

All these entities are rare and are far less common than metastatic malignant melanoma.