Dermoscopy of early melanomas: variation according to the anatomic site

Linda Tognetti,Caterina Longo,Danica Tiodorovic,Aimilios Lallas,Cristina Carrera,Susana Puig,Elvira Moscarella,Giuseppe Argenziano,Alberto Balistreri,Gennaro Cataldo,Alessandra Cartocci,Jean Luc Perrot,Francesca Farnetani,Pietro Rubegni,Elisa Cinotti,Giovanni Pellacani,Gabriele Cevenini

doi:10.1007/s00403-021-02226-x

Abstract

To date, is yet to be elucidated whether the body location of cutaneous melanoma can significantly affect an early dermoscopic diagnosis and, consequently, if it can be regarded as a prognostic factor. To investigate the dermoscopic appearance of early melanomas (EMs) at different body sites; to test the ability of dermoscopists in recognizing specific dermoscopic features in EMs. A pool of 106 experienced dermoscopists evaluated the presence of 10 dermoscopic features assumed as suggestive of malignancy among 268 images of EMs with ambiguous appearance located at 16 body sites. According to 720 evaluations, EMs of the “upper extremities” showed a prevalence of early atypical lentiginous features. EMs of the “anterior trunk” exhibited the lower rate of recognition for all features. EMs of the “rear trunk” can be regarded as an intermediate area, showing high recognition rates of regression-related and chronic-traumatism-related features.

Highlights

Cutaneous melanoma (MM) incidence has been rising in the last decades, and, in parallel, the attention for its etiology and predisposing factors [2, 3, 5, 7,8,9,10,11,12]
The distribution of 10 dermoscopic structures in early melanomas (EMs) located at 16 different body sites was reported in Table 2: the frequency of recognition is estimated according to 717 evaluations performed by 106 experienced dermoscopists
The results of chi-square tests suggested that, when comparing anterior trunk vs rear trunk vs upper extremities vs lower extremities, six out of ten dermoscopic structures significantly differ in their distribution, i.e., irregular dots and globules (IDG), blue-grey peppering (BGP), white scar-like areas (WSA), RG, irregular blotches (IB) and VSA

Summary

Introduction

Cutaneous melanoma (MM) incidence has been rising in the last decades, and, in parallel, the attention for its etiology and predisposing factors [2, 3, 5, 7,8,9,10,11,12]. In this context, the body distribution was of interest both for the clinical relevance and for a better understanding of the etiology of the tumor itself [17,18,19, 24, 27, 30].

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion