Five cases of dermatofibrosarcoma are reported. All showed features typical of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans except that in four cases, and a portion of the fifth case, no protusion of the tumor was noted clinically despite the rather advanced stage of growth of the tumor. These lesions resembled morphea or a morpheaform basal cell carcinoma clinically but could be recognized as "dermatofibrosarcoma non-protuberans" by physicians who had observed a previous case.

We report a 59-year-old, dark-complexioned black man with a giant basal cell carcinoma infiltrating virtually the entire scalp. Widespread metastatic bone marrow involvement produced a myelophthisic anemia. Basal cell carcinoma is rare in blacks, is rarely this large, and very rarely produces myelophthisic anemia from bone marrow metastases.

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Four cases of colonization of nonmelanocytic lesions by dendritic melanocytic cells are reported, one in a verruca vulgaris of the lip, one in a squamous cell carcinoma in situ of mucous membrane overlying a tonsil, one in a lesion of lichen simplex chronicus with a nevocellular nevus of the external ear, and one in a dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (Bednar tumor). This is an important biological process of melanocytes that must not be confused with the acral-lentiginous (palmar-plantar-subungual-mucosal (P-S-M) melanoma. It is probably much more common than the paucity of published reports would indicate.

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