1. Dermoscopic patterns of acral melanocytic nevi and melanomas in a white population in central Italy.
- Author
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Altamura D, Altobelli E, Micantonio T, Piccolo D, Fargnoli MC, and Peris K
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Infant, Italy epidemiology, Male, Melanoma epidemiology, Middle Aged, Nevus, Pigmented epidemiology, Predictive Value of Tests, Retrospective Studies, Skin Neoplasms epidemiology, Dermoscopy standards, Melanoma pathology, Nevus, Pigmented pathology, Skin Neoplasms pathology
- Abstract
Objective: To investigate the dermoscopic features of acral melanocytic lesions in a white population in central Italy., Design: Retrospective review., Setting: University dermatology department., Patients: Six hundred fifty-one Italian subjects, ranging in age from 6 months to 78 years., Main Outcome Measures: We retrospectively investigated all digital dermoscopic images of acral melanocytic lesions included in our database from January 1996 to May 2005., Results: We retrieved digital images of 723 benign acral melanocytic lesions in 641 patients (235 males and 406 females; mean age, 26.5 years) and of 10 acral melanomas in 10 patients (7 males and 3 females; mean age, 65 years). Individual lesions were located on the soles (n=520), fingers (n=146), and palms (n=67). Among acral nevi, the parallel furrow (42.1%) was the most common pattern, followed by the latticelike (14.9%), nontypical (13.7%), fibrillar (10.8%), homogeneous (9.3%), globular (5.4%), and reticular (2.1%) patterns. The frequency of distribution of the latticelike, nontypical, fibrillar, and homogeneous patterns significantly differed (P<.001, P=.03, P<.001, and P=.03, respectively) between anatomical sites. Also, 13 acral nevi (1.8%), mainly located on the fingers, showed a new combined pattern (transition pattern) consisting of a brownish black network associated with a parallel furrow or latticelike pattern. All 10 acral melanomas showed a multicomponent dermoscopic pattern., Conclusions: In our series of acral nevi, we observed 8 dermoscopic patterns, with varying distribution by anatomical site. Identification of a specific pattern is highly suggestive of the benign or the malignant nature of any given acral melanocytic lesion.
- Published
- 2006
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