Desmoplastic malignant melanoma (A rare variant of spindle cell melanoma)

• Published in: Cancer 1971, Vol.28 (4), p.914-936
• Main Authors: Conlev, John, Lattes, Raffaele, Orr, William
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adrenal Gland Neoplasms - pathology; Aged; Back; Cheek; Facial Neoplasms - pathology; Female; Foot Diseases - pathology; Head and Neck Neoplasms - pathology; Heel; Humans; Kidney Neoplasms - pathology; Leukemia, Myeloid; Liver Neoplasms - pathology; Lung Neoplasms - pathology; Male; Melanoma - complications; Melanoma - pathology; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Metastasis; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - pathology; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary; Pancreatic Neoplasms - pathology; Skin Neoplasms - complications; Skin Neoplasms - pathology; Spinal Neoplasms - pathology
• ISSN: 0008-543X; 1097-0142
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0142(1971)28:4<914::AID-CNCR2820280415>3.0.CO;2-E

This is a detailed report of seven cases presenting a peculiar sequence of events which, starting from inconspicuous superficial melanotic lesions, generally located in the head and neck regions leads to the production of bulky subcutaneous tumefactions. These have the clinical and histologic appearance of locally invasive fibrous tumors. However, the elongated neoplastic cells are cytologically different from neoplastic fibroblasts, and these tumors behave as highly malignant stubbornly recurring and often metastasizing neoplasms. Some of the recurrences, as well as some of the metastases, are histologically acceptable as malignant melanoma of the more usual type. This appears to be a hitherto undescribed clinicopathologic entity, for which we suggest the term “desmoplastic malignant melanoma.”.