Primary melanoma of the esophagus is exceeding rare. Since Baur's report3 in 1905, reports of 17 cases have appeared in the literature. Six have had junctional changes in the overlying or juxtaposed epithelium, as set forth by Allen.2 In the remaining 12 either the cases were not fully documented or the neoplasm had destroyed this change. Our recent experience focuses attention on the destruction of junctional change by an expanding lesion. Loring and Zeppa8 formulated an excellent table of the previously reported cases.
Report of a Case
A 64-year-old single white man was admitted for the first time on Jan. 7, 1956, complaining of four months' progressive dysphagia. Small sips of liquid could be taken very slowly by mouth, and there was a 40 lb. weight loss, accompanied by weakness. A dull ache over the right anterior costal margin had been present for one year. There was