BACKGROUND: Melanomas that arise in association with or that resemble blue nevi are extremely rare and have been termed "malignant blue nevi." The authors report on a single-institutional clinicopathologic study of "blue nevus-like melanomas" (BNLMs). METHODS: Twenty-six patients were identified with a "malignant blue nevus" over 29 years at the Sydney Melanoma Unit. Twenty-three patients were included in the current study after pathologic review. Clinical outcomes of those patients were compared with the outcomes in a matched control group of patients with melanoma (matched for age, sex, Breslow thickness, Clark level, ulceration, and anatomic site). RESULTS: The median patient age was 44 years, and men comprised 65% of the patients. The tumors were distributed evenly among skin sites, and their median Breslow thickness was 5.5 mm. After a median follow-up of 36.5 months, there was no difference in survival (P = .702) between patients with BNLM and patients in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: BNLMs tended to present at a more advanced stage, with thicker primary tumors, but had a metastatic pattern comparable to and was not more aggressive in behavior than other types of melanoma. The authors concluded that BNLMs should be treated in the same way as any other melanoma variants based on clinical staging and pathologic prognostic indices.
BACKGROUND:Melanomas that arise in association with or that resemble blue nevi are extremely rare and have been termed "malignant blue nevi." The authors report on a single-institutional clinicopathologic study of "blue nevus-like melanomas" (BNLMs). METHODS: Twenty-six patients were identified with a "malignant blue nevus" over 29 years at the Sydney Melanoma Unit. Twenty-three patients were included in the current study after pathologic review. Clinical outcomes of those patients were compared with the outcomes in a matched control group of patients with melanoma (matched for age, sex, Breslow thickness, Clark level, ulceration, and anatomic site). RESULTS: The median patient age was 44 years, and men comprised 65% of the patients. The tumors were distributed evenly among skin sites, and their median Breslow thickness was 5.5 mm. After a median follow-up of 36.5 months, there was no difference in survival (P = .702) between patients with BNLM and patients in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: BNLMs tended to present at a more advanced stage, with thicker primary tumors, but had a metastatic pattern comparable to and was not more aggressive in behavior than other types of melanoma. The authors concluded that BNLMs should be treated in the same way as any other melanoma variants based on clinical staging and pathologic prognostic indices.
Authors: Klaus G Griewank; Hansgeorg Müller; Louise A Jackett; Michael Emberger; Inga Möller; Johannes Ap van de Nes; Lisa Zimmer; Elisabeth Livingstone; Thomas Wiesner; Simone L Scholz; Ioana Cosgarea; Antje Sucker; Tobias Schimming; Uwe Hillen; Bastian Schilling; Annette Paschen; Henning Reis; Thomas Mentzel; Heinz Kutzner; Arno Rütten; Rajmohan Murali; Richard A Scolyer; Dirk Schadendorf Journal: Mod Pathol Date: 2017-04-14 Impact factor: 7.842
Authors: May P Chan; Aleodor A Andea; Paul W Harms; Alison B Durham; Rajiv M Patel; Min Wang; Patrick Robichaud; Gary J Fisher; Timothy M Johnson; Douglas R Fullen Journal: Mod Pathol Date: 2016-01-08 Impact factor: 7.842
Authors: Inga Möller; Rajmohan Murali; Hansgeorg Müller; Thomas Wiesner; Louise A Jackett; Simone L Scholz; Ioana Cosgarea; Johannes Ap van de Nes; Antje Sucker; Uwe Hillen; Bastian Schilling; Annette Paschen; Heinz Kutzner; Arno Rütten; Martin Böckers; Richard A Scolyer; Dirk Schadendorf; Klaus G Griewank Journal: Mod Pathol Date: 2016-12-09 Impact factor: 7.842