The Spitz nevus, also known as benign juvenile melanoma or a nevus of epitheloid and spindle cells, was first described by Sophie Spitz in 1948 and is most common in children and adolescents. They can present in three different ways: solitary nodular, multiple grouped, and multiple disseminated. The great majority of lesions are solitary, nodular, and are present in children and adolescents (57...

BACKGROUND Distinction of Spitz nevus from malignant melanoma is sometimes difficult on the basis of conventional histology. A high rate of BRAF gene mutations in malignant melanomas (66%) and nevi (82%) has recently been reported. MATERIALS AND METHODS We screened a series of 20 Spitz nevi for BRAF mutations in exons 11 and 15 by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). RESULTS BRAF...

BACKGROUND It is unclear whether pigmented Spitz and Reed nevi are distinct morphologic entities or part of the spectrum of Spitz nevi. METHODS In a retrospective observational study we analyzed dermatopathologic slides of 22 cases with clinical and dermatoscopic features indicative of pigmented Spitz or Reed nevus in a blinded fashion according to predefined criteria and subsequently correla...

The clinicopathologic classification, diagnosis, and management of Spitzoid melanocytic lesions is one of the most problematic topics in dermato-oncology and dermatopathology. After earlier anecdotal reports [1,2], the controversial history of these controversial lesions began in 1948 when Sophie Spitz described 13 cases of what she called “juvenile melanoma,” underlining its presumably good pr...

OBJECTIVE To report the clinical evolution and handling of a Spitz nevus, from its initial flat feature to becoming an irregular, nodular, reddish lesion. CASE DESCRIPTION Female child, phototype II, with a small congenital nevus on the left lower limb and other sustained small nevi. The patient went through annual clinical and dermoscopic evaluations between the ages of three and seven, peri...

BACKGROUND Spitz nevi demonstrate a diverse spectrum of morphologies. Recently, there have been two reported examples of Spitz nevi with rosette-like structures similar to Homer-Wright rosettes. Rosettes have also been described in melanomas and in a proliferative nodule arising in a congenital nevus. METHODS A retrospective review of 104 cases of Spitz nevi and variants (n = 51), pigmented s...

Spitz nevus is a benign melanocytic lesion and also one of the main differential diagnosis of melanoma. A descriptive and retrospective study of surgical specimens from patients with a diagnosis of Spitz nevus was conducted at two institutions in Niterói - RJ. 32 cases were analyzed. The most frequent histological subtype was compound (60 %), with a predominance of epithelioid cells (17 cases -...