The "red melanoma"--a rare form of amelanotic malignant melanoma

The two major variants of amelanotic malignant melanoma are the verrucous and the polypoid forms. A further--albeit rare--red eczematous variety has also been described. We report two female patients with reddish, non-pigmented, scaly lesions on the upper arm and the shoulder that had developed 2 to...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft 2004-07, Vol.2 (7), p.597
Main Authors: Coras, Brigitte, Hohenleutner, Silvia, Raff, Kerstin, Landthaler, Michael, Hohenleutner, Ulrich
Format: Article
Language:ger
Subjects:
Aged
Diagnosis, Differential
Female
Humans
Melanoma, Amelanotic - classification
Melanoma, Amelanotic - pathology
Melanoma, Amelanotic - therapy
Middle Aged
Rare Diseases - pathology
Rare Diseases - therapy
Skin Neoplasms - classification
Skin Neoplasms - pathology
Skin Neoplasms - therapy
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The two major variants of amelanotic malignant melanoma are the verrucous and the polypoid forms. A further--albeit rare--red eczematous variety has also been described. We report two female patients with reddish, non-pigmented, scaly lesions on the upper arm and the shoulder that had developed 2 to 3 years previously. One biopsy showed the diagnosis of a melanoma growing in situ while the second revealed a highly atypical melanocytic tumour. However, the histopathological examination of the entire tumour showed a superficial spreading amelanotic malignant melanoma. Therefore, in non-healing erythematous lesions, even without pigmentation or ulceration, the rare differential diagnosis of amelanotic malignant melanoma should be taken in consideration and a biopsy should be performed prior to therapy without histological control.
ISSN:1610-0379