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Melanocytic Nevi with Phenotypic Heterogeneity

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Pathology of Melanocytic Nevi and Malignant Melanoma

Abstract

As previously discussed, the developmental biology of melanocytic nevi is poorly understood and thus explanations for the variance in cell type, melanin content, stroma, and other characteristics currently do not exist. To better characterize the wide range of cellular and stromal variations that may occur in melanocytic lesions, we have coined the overarching term melanocytic nevus (or tumor) with phenotypic heterogeneity (MNPH). Accordingly, the goal of this chapter is to describe the salient features of the most common melanocytic lesions with phenotypic heterogeneity the pathologist is likely to encounter. A number of closely related processes reported in the literature as “combined” nevus, deep penetrating nevus, plexiform spindle cell nevus, inverted type A nevus, and melanocytic nevus with focal dermal epithelioid cell components or dermal nodules are emphasized because of their unusual histologic features. As outlined in Table 9-1, a number of these lesions tend to show rather similar attributes, and these morphologic similarities and differences are discussed in the chapter.

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Authors
  1. Raymond L. Barnhill
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC, 20037, USA

    Raymond L. Barnhill MD (Chair, Professor of Dermatology and Pathology) (Chair, Professor of Dermatology and Pathology)

  2. Division of Dermatology and Department of Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Michael Piepkorn MD, PhD (Clinical Professor) (Clinical Professor)

  3. Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    Klaus J. Busam MD (Associate Professor) (Associate Professor)

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Barnhill, R.L. (2004). Melanocytic Nevi with Phenotypic Heterogeneity. In: Barnhill, R.L., Piepkorn, M., Busam, K.J. (eds) Pathology of Melanocytic Nevi and Malignant Melanoma. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-21619-5_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-21619-5_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-2327-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-21619-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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