To investigate whether the frequency of the BRAF(V600E) (V-raf murine sarcoma virus oncogene homolog B1) mutation in melanocytic nevi is associated with sun exposure patterns, we examined 120 acquired melanocytic nevi excised from various anatomic sites, including glabrous skin, as well as 62 congenital nevi. We used a new mutation detection system based on the shifted termination assay, called...

BACKGROUND In vivo confocal microscopy enables skin visualization with a quasihistopathologic resolution. OBJECTIVE We sought to describe confocal features in melanocytic lesions and to evaluate their diagnostic significance for melanoma (MM) identification. METHODS Thirty seven MMs, 49 acquired nevi, and 16 Spitz/Reed nevi, presenting equivocal clinicodermoscopic aspects were investigated ...

Giant congenital melanocytic nevi are rare and occur in about one out of every 2,00,000 to 5,00,000 births. There is a significant association between bathing trunk nevus and neurofibromatosis and lipomatosis. Apart from this, association of bathing trunk nevus with abnormalities like spina bifida occulta, meningocele, club foot and hypertrophy or atrophy of deeper structures of a limb, have be...

The so-called dysplastic nevus first entered medical parlance in 1980 [1], originally known as the B-K mole in 1978, only to evolve over the next 34 years into a variety of names including familiar and atypical sporadic mole, melanocytic nevus with persistent lentiginous melanocytic hyperplasia, junctional or compound nevus with architectural atypia/disorder with or without cytological atypia, ...

The atypical histologic features considered to be specific to dysplastic (atypical) nevi have been reported to occur in nevi that are common nevi by all other clinical and histologic features. The distribution and mutual relations among such features in nevi need to be further studied. Six histologic features (dimension > 5 mm, lentiginous proliferation, disordered nested pattern, melanocytic d...

BACKGROUND The incidence of cutaneous melanoma is increasing worldwide. Since it is an aggressive neoplasm, it is difficult to treat in advanced stages; early diagnosis is important to heal the patient. Melanocytic nevi are benign pigmented skin lesions while atypical nevi are associated with the risk of developing melanoma because they have a different histological pattern than common nevi. Th...

The aim of our study was to use tissue expansion for the treatment of giant congenital melanocytic nevi of the upper extremity and examine potential advantages over traditional techniques.There were 3 stages in the treatment of giant congenital melanocytic nevi of the upper extremities using tissue expansion: first, the expander was inserted into the subcutaneous pocket; second, the expander wa...

BACKGROUND The accurate clinical assessment of melanocytic neoplasms is a challenge for clinicians. Currently, obtaining a biopsy specimen and conducting a histologic examination is the standard of care. The incidence of melanoma in white populations is high, resulting in a large number of biopsy specimens. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to develop a noninvasive genomic method using...

Expression of CD44, particularly of certain splice variants, has been linked to tumor progression and metastasis formation in a number of different animal and human cancers. Because human cutaneous melanoma is among the most aggressive human cancers, we explored expression of CD44 isoforms (CD44v) in lesions of melanocytic tumor progression. In addition, by RT-PCR and FACS analysis we assessed ...