Original articleClinical and dermoscopic characteristics of melanomas on nonfacial chronically sun-damaged skin
Section snippets
Methods
Cases of melanomas on nonfacial CSDS skin were retrospectively identified from the biopsy specimen log and image database of 6 dermatology and primary care skin cancer clinics (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; Skin and Cancer Associates, Plantation, FL; Melanoma Signature Skin Cancer Centre, Brisbane, Australia; Northern Rivers Skin Cancer Clinic, Ballina, Australia; Beenleigh Family Practice, Brisbane, Australia; and Hermit Park Clinic and Skin Cancer Care, Townsville,
Results
Of 186 cases that met the inclusion criteria, 112 (60%) patients were male and 62 (33%) were female. The average patient age was 68.5 years (range, 37-93 years). There were 142 (76.3%) in situ and 39 (21%) invasive melanomas (average thickness, 0.49 mm [range, 0.12-1.6 mm]). LM was the most common histopathologic subtype (n = 76; 40.9%), followed by superficial spreading melanoma (SSM; n = 42; 22.6%). Twenty-one cases (11.3%) revealed a combination of 2 subtypes of melanoma (Table I).
Lesions
Discussion
Melanomas occurring on nonfacial CSDS can be challenging to detect because they can mimic lentigines or nevi and be camouflaged amongst many surrounding benign lesions. Careful clinical examination together with dermoscopy can assist in the evaluation of these patients. There have been few studies examining these lesions.5, 6
Traditional melanoma classification is based on clinical and pathologic characteristics and includes 4 melanoma subtypes: SSM, LM, nodular melanoma, and acral lentiginous
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Funding sources: None.
Conflicts of interest: None declared.