title: Oral melanoacanthoma with prominent spongiotic intraepithelial vesicles.
abstract: Oral melanoacanthoma is a rarely-reported, benign pigmented lesion of oral mucosa. Spongiosis was only recently mentioned as a light-microscopical finding occasionally seen in oral melanoacanthoma, and the formation of spongiotic intraepithelial vesicles to our knowledge has never been reported. The authors discuss a case of a 34-year-old, black woman who acutely developed extensive hyperpigmented oral lesions which on the biopsy showed both intraepithelial dendritic melanocytes and severe spongiosis forming intraepithelial vesicles. These lesions resolved spontaneously in a few months which led the authors to believe that the term melanoacanthoma, implying that it is a tumor, is a misnomer. This report supports findings of other investigators who consider oral melanoacanthoma to be a mucositis with unusual proliferation of dendritic melanocytes in the epidermis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zemtsov
authors.forename: W F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Bergfeld
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D002610:Cheek; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D009910:Oral Hygiene