SPITZOID SKIN LESIONS DIAGNOSIS ENGAGES HIGHT EXPERTISE – CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGIC INTERPRETATION OF TWO CASES.

Spitzoid skin lesions cause diagnosis difficulties due to their clinical, dermoscopicand histopathological similarities to melanomas. A correct diagnosis implies a high expertise and close collaboration between the dermatologistand the pathologist as there are no algorithms or methods of diagnosis with a 100% accuracy. This type of lesions continues to be of interest for scientists considering the fact that 30% of the malpraxis cases of misdiagnosed melanomas are caused by Spitzoid lesions. In most cases, Spitz nevi do not show any chromosomal aberrations and when present they are totally different from those seen in melanomas. In this paper we present two cases of Spitzoid lesions: desmoplastic Spitz nevus and atypical Spitz nevus. The paper underlines the clinical, dermoscopic, histopathological and immunohistochemical features and their impact on final diagnosis. Management of Spitzoid lesions is a challange even for experts. Cytogenetic evaluation of atypical Spitzoid lesions, using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) respectively, can be very useful when differentiating them from melanomas and establishing their most probable biological behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]