Anyone diagnosed with skin cancer in lungs, but no skin lesions?

Diagnosed with a melanoma on the back surface of the lower lobe right lung, I had robotic thoracic surgery July 24th. Removed, margins and lymph nodes clear, I began immunotherapy treatment the end of September. Currently on a regime of Keytruda. Very little side effects, good energy and appetite. 30+ year history of skin melanoma mostly on the back.

Welcome to the forum, @headsaid12 . I've also been treating for Stage IV melanoma in the lung, but I had been treated for a lesion on my face approximately 5 years earlier - even though at that time it had been assessed as low chance of metastasis or malignancy.

I believe I'm understanding this situation correctly, it appears a diagnosis Stage IV melanoma, meaning melanoma has spread to body organ(s): brain, liver, lung, bones, has been confirmed.

If so, it is a more unusual occurence as this accounts for less than 8% or so of all metastatic melanomas since there had not been a melanoma skin lesion previously diagnosed. When it's melanoma of unknown primary - or MUP - it means that the melanoma spread to a distant site, such as an organ (like the lung) without a detectable initial skin site. It's unlear how this happens - whether the immune system attacked and resolved the original melanoma, known as immune-related regression, was superficially removed by another means, or other proposed speculations that cannot be accurately confirmed.

It can be very frightening when such a diagnosis is made and many of us have questions as to the origin and/or spread, more so when no primary had been found. Now that the condition has been identified, have treatment options been provided?

Yes treatment options have been discussed. They started me on immunotherapy. I did two treatments and the tumor grew more and my breathe got worse. So they stopped the immunotherapy and decided to do lung ablation on October 6th. We rescanned about 2 months later and the tumor has shrink. So the doctors had decided to do another lung ablation on January 20th to shrink more and/ or kill it out. With my lung condition I was not a candidate for chemotherapy, or radiation. Also I have Pneumoconiosis, COPD, bronchitis and now Melanoma Lung Cancer

@headsaid12: I totally understand. Although my lung nodule responded well to initial treatment, I also had to stop immunotherapy recently due to toxicity issues. Fortunately, there can be alternatives.

In your case, it seems the ablation seems to be working well. Can you let me know how the next procedure on the 20th goes? Wishing you well.

Diagnosis this February with stag 4 melanoma cancer in the lung. Had the wedge removed. No other places found on body. Had basil cells removed several times but never melanoma. Just had my second immunotherapy. Doing fine so far.

Melanoma lesion removed from the back lower lobe rt. Lung last July, on Keytruda treatment every 3 weeks beginning October. So far, so good with minor side effects, negative Sygnatera test results in January. Had a history of melanoma skin cancer.

@tigers2012 Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect and thank you for sharing your story. I also had been diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma due to a lung nodule; in my case, I'd had a skin melanoma removed nearly 5 years earlier when testing of adjacent lymph nodes were negative. I also have a history of several basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) but even so the diagnosis of metastatic disease is shocking, isn't it?

Glad to hear you're tolerating treatment well. We're very fortunate that such treatment has been so promising. How was your recovery after the wedge resection and what immunotherapy are you on?