Small cell malignant melanoma: a variant of naevoid melanoma. Clinicopathological features and histological differential diagnosis

Blessing, K.; Grant, Jerry; Sanders, D. S. A.; Kennedy, M.; Husain, Akhtar; Coburn, P. R.

doi:10.1136/jcp.53.8.591

Cited by 44 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(26 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Our study expands the histological subclassifications by integrating the expression of molecular markers of the Wnt pathway with the histological appearance of the malignant melanocytes within the primary melanoma lesions. The expression patterns of the Wnt ligands correlated best with a histological classification based on the size and pleomorphism of the malignant cells, along the lines of classifications proposed by Blessing and colleagues 36 and Day et al 39 No correlation with Clark's classification schema or level/depth of invasion was seen.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Wnt ligand expression in malignant melanoma: pilot study indicating correlation with histopathological features

Pham

Milovanović²,

Barr³

et al. 2003

Molecular Pathology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Wnt ligand expression in malignant melanoma: pilot study indicating correlation with histopathological features

Pham

Milovanović²,

Barr³

et al. 2003

Molecular Pathology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…In particular, nevoid melanoma, [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] minimal deviation melanoma, 26,[34][35][36][37][38][39] desmoplastic melanoma, 33,[40][41][42][43][44][45] and the atypical spitzoid melanocytic proliferations 21,33 represent special problems in melanocytic tumor pathology.…”

Section: The Nature Of Error In Dermatopathological Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Medicolegal aspects of neoplastic dermatology

Crowson

2006

Modern Pathology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Medical malpractice litigation is rising at an explosive rate in the US and, to a lesser extent, in Canada. The impact of medical malpractice litigation on health care costs and the cost of insurance is dramatic. Certain specialist categories are becoming uninsurable in some parts of the US, while in others, clinicians are retiring early, restricting or changing practice or changing states of residence in consequence of medical malpractice claims and of the cost and availability of insurance. This, in turn, has had the real effect of denying care to patients in some communities in the US. Some 13% of all medical malpractice claims relate to one area of neoplastic dermatopathology, specifically, melanocytic neoplasia. Certain steps can be taken by pathology laboratories to reduce, but never completely eliminate, the risk of medical malpractice claims. In this review, attention is paid to the source of medical malpractice claims and an abbreviated approach to specific strategies for risk management is presented.

show abstract

“…[40][41][42][43][44][45] The clinical setting in our experience is that of a tan nodule typically greater than 1 cm in size on the trunk or proximal limbs of a young adult. Our experience is thus similar to that of Blessing et al 43 but is at variance with that of Kossard and Wilkinson. 46 This is, fortunately for pathologists, a rare form of malignant melanoma comprising less than 1% of all lesions seen in consultation.…”

Section: Introduction and Clinical Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unusual variants of malignant melanoma

2006

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A potential diagnostic pitfall in the histologic assessment of melanoma is the inability to recognize unusual melanoma variants. Of these, the more treacherous examples include the desmoplastic melanoma, the nevoid melanoma, the so-called 'minimal-deviation melanoma,' melanoma with prominent pigment synthesis or 'animal-type melanoma,' and the malignant blue nevus. Also problematic are the unusual phenotypic profiles seen in vertical growth phase melanomas; these include those tumors whose morphological peculiarities mimic cancers of nonmelanocytic lineage and those melanomas that express aberrant antigenic profiles not commonly associated with a melanocytic histogenesis. Metaplastic change in melanoma, balloon cell melanoma, signet-ring cell melanoma, myxoid melanoma, small cell melanoma and rhabdoid melanoma all have the potential to mimic metastatic and primary neoplasms of different lineage derivations. Abnormal immunohistochemical expression of CD 34, cytokeratins, epithelial membrane antigen, and smooth muscle markers as well as the deficient expression of S100 protein and melanocyte lineage-specific markers such as GP100 protein (ie HMB-45 antibody) and A103 (ie Melan-A) also present confusing diagnostic challenges. In this review, we will discuss in some detail certain of these novel clinicopathologic types of melanoma, as well as the abnormal phenotypic expressions seen in vertical growth phase melanoma. Modern Pathology (2006) 19, S41-S70. doi:10.1038/modpathol.3800516Keywords: melanoma; variants; phenotype; immunohistochemistry; morphology Desmoplastic melanoma Introduction and Clinical FeaturesDemoplastic melanoma is a rare variant of malignant melanoma first recognized in 1971.1 Desmoplastic and neurotropic melanoma may be mistaken clinically for a scar, a fibroma, a basal cell carcinoma, or a fibromatosis. Sometimes there is pronounced mucin deposition that imparts a boggy quality to the lesion. 2,3 The clinical clue to the diagnosis, when present, is cutaneous or mucosal pigmentation overlying a palpable dermal or submucosal nodule. That said, only half of desmoplastic melanomas are clinically pigmented. 3 Desmoplastic melanomas tend to occur in the head and neck area and the upper back [4][5][6][7] but are also seen in mucosal sites such as the vulva or gingiva 8 and in acral locations. Typically, they occur in older patients, with mean ages in the larger series falling into the sixth to eighth decades of life. 4,6,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Larger series show a male preponderance of 1.75 to 1. 15 Although any given desmoplastic melanoma can be deeply invasive, when matched for depth of invasion, they are associated with a lesser risk of metastatic disease than conventional melanomas of similar depth. The classical clinical finding is that of a pale or fleshy firm nodule reminiscent of a scar, which tends to delay clinical diagnosis and biopsy. Carlson et al,6 who reported an equal distribution in men and women, found most tumors to be located in the head and neck area (75%) and to be nonpigment...

show abstract

Small cell malignant melanoma: a variant of naevoid melanoma. Clinicopathological features and histological differential diagnosis

Cited by 44 publications

References 18 publications

Wnt ligand expression in malignant melanoma: pilot study indicating correlation with histopathological features

Wnt ligand expression in malignant melanoma: pilot study indicating correlation with histopathological features

Medicolegal aspects of neoplastic dermatology

Unusual variants of malignant melanoma

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About