Dermoscopic Criteria, Histopathological Correlates and Genetic Findings of Thin Melanoma on Non-Volar Skin.

Cesare Massone,Simona Sola,Rainer Hofman-Wellenhof,Stefano Chiodi

doi:10.3390/genes12081288

Cesare Massone, Simona Sola + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12081288

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Abstract

Dermoscopy is a non-invasive, in vivo technique that allows the visualization of subsurface skin structures in the epidermis, at the dermoepidermal junction, and in the upper dermis. Dermoscopy brought a new dimension in evaluating melanocytic skin neoplasms (MSN) also representing a link between clinical and pathologic examination of any MSN. However, histopathology remains the gold standard in diagnosing MSN. Dermoscopic–pathologic correlation enhances the level of quality of MSN diagnosis and increases the level of confidence of pathologists. Melanoma is one of the most genetically predisposed among all cancers in humans. The genetic landscape of melanoma has been described in the last years but is still a field in continuous evolution. Melanoma genetic markers play a role not only in melanoma susceptibility, initiation, and progression but also in prognosis and therapeutic decisions. Several studies described the dermoscopic specific criteria and predictors for melanoma and their histopathologic correlates, but only a few studies investigated the correlation among dermoscopy, pathology, and genetic of MSN. The aim of this work is to review the published data about dermoscopic features of melanoma, their histopathological correlates with regards also to genetic alterations. Particularly, this review will focus on low-CSD (cumulative sun damage) melanoma or superficial spreading melanoma, high-CSD melanoma, and nevus-associated melanoma.

Highlights

Non-carriers of MC1R R variants develop superficial spreading melanoma (SSM) dermoscopically characterized by an atypical pigment network which is more frequent in darky-pigmented patients and less frequent in individuals with red hair colour [37]
Structureless areas have been reported in cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A) mutants with two red hair colourmelanocortin 1 receptor (RHC-MC1R) variants
I.e., knowing dermoscopy and pathological correlates, incisional biopsies on Lentigo maligna (LM) are performed in more correct areas, avoiding underestimation of the Breslowindex

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Dermoscopy is a non-invasive, in vivo technique that allows the visualization of subsurface skin structures in the epidermis, at the dermoepidermal junction, and in the upper dermis; these structures are usually not visible to the naked eye [1,2,3]. Dermoscopy improves the diagnosis of melanocytic lesions in clinical practice, improves the confidence in the diagnosis of benign pigmented lesions, reducing the number of unnecessary biopsies [1,2,3]. Several meta-analyses proved that dermoscopy increases the sensitivity for the diagnosis of melanoma without decreasing the specificity, compared with the naked-eye examination [1,2,3]

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