title: False "melanocytic" parameters shown by pigmented seborrheic keratoses: a finding which is not uncommon in dermoscopy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dermoscopic evaluation of pigmented lesions includes assessment of criteria suggestive of melanocytic proliferation. Dermoscopic diagnosis may be hampered when a nonmelanocytic lesion displays one or more melanocytic features.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the incidence of misleading dermoscopic features characteristic of melanocytic lesions in pigmented seborrheic keratosis (PSK).
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated 402 clinically typical PSKs from 138 patients with at least one clinically identifiable PSK.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Approximately 10% of PSKs displayed one or more melanocytic features, the most frequent being a "false" pigment network.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The occurrence of a "false" pigment network in PSK can be misleading in the differential diagnosis of clinically equivocal lesions. A correct diagnosis can only be obtained if all available dermoscopic criteria are appropriately assessed together with the clinical examination.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Dermatologiche and Patologia Umana ed Oncologia, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze, Italy. vdegi@tin.it
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: De Giorgi
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Massi
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stante
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017492:Keratosis, Seborrheic / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology