Amelanotic melanoma

Abstract

Cutaneous amelanotic melanoma (AM) is a rare amelanotic or a hypomelanotic subtype of melanoma, comprising only 0.4–27.5% of all melanoma cases. The mean age of the patients is over 50 years, and the male/female ratio varies from 0.5 to 4. Patients with red hair, type I skin, freckles, lack of nevi on the back, a sun-sensitive phenotype, or previous AM history are more likely to develop AMs. As AMs lack pigmentation, their appearances vary and can mimic many benign and malignant conditions, thus presenting a diagnostic challenge. AMs are composed of greater proportions of nodular melanoma, acral lentiginous melanoma, and desmoplastic melanoma than pigmented melanomas. They also present with thicker Breslow thickness, higher mitotic rate, more frequent ulceration, higher tumor stage, and lower survival than pigmented melanomas.

Cytotoxic Effect of Vanicosides A and B from Reynoutria sachalinensis against Melanotic and Amelanotic Melanoma Cell Lines and in silico Evaluation for Inhibition of BRAFV600E and MEK1

“…The early-stage localized melanoma is treated with surgical interventions followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but most patients are diagnosed at the time when the tumor has already metastasized—in such cases existing standard treatment methods show limited effectiveness [ 2 ]. A rarely occurring type of melanoma—amelanotic melanoma—which shows no or little pigmentation, is even more difficult to diagnose and is associated with a higher risk of death and recurrence [ 3 ]. In the last few years, many efforts were taken to improve understanding the features of melanoma cells.…”

Clinicopathological and dermoscopic features of amelanotic and hypomelanotic melanoma: a retrospective multicentric study

“…Amelanotic/hypomelanotic melanoma (AHM) is a clinicopathological subtype of cutaneous melanoma with a worse prognosis compared to pigmented melanoma as a result of delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and its intrinsic aggressiveness 1,2 . AHM presents pigment in < 25% of the lesion’s surface at clinical/dermoscopic examination and represents 2–8% of cutaneous melanoma 2 . Compared to pigmented melanomas, AHM patients have a higher risk of metastatic disease at diagnosis and a significantly lower 5‐year melanoma‐specific survival 3 .…”

Primary acral amelanotic melanoma: A rare case report

“…AMMs are characterized by a higher proportion of nodular and acral lentiginous melanoma subtypes compared with pigmented melanomas. AMMs are also characterized by a greater Breslow thickness, higher mitotic rate, more frequent ulceration, higher tumor stage at diagnosis, and lower survival rates compared with pigmented melanomas (14). Early surgical resection is the first choice of curative treatment and chemotherapy is the most commonly used palliative treatment.…”