title: A variant of junctional naevus of epithelioid and spindle cell type rich in melanophages.
abstract: We describe a form of junctional melanocytic neoplasm with a massive production of melanin accumulated in the dermis. The pigment is stored in macrophages, which are by far the most numerous cellular component of the lesion. Another peculiar aspect is the occasional presence of a few melanocytes scattered in a pagetoid pattern above the dermo-epidermal junction in the spinous layer. The histological picture of this lesion is similar to a form of "tumoral melanosis" induced by a regressed malignant melanoma. The lesion had a worrisome clinical picture, its dark colour constituting a clinico-pathological diagnostic problem. The main clinical clues to the benign nature of this entity are the small lateral diameter, the uniform distribution of the pigment and the stability of the lesion over time; moreover, the patients are alive and well after a considerable length of time. Although a regressed dysplastic or malignant lesion cannot be totally excluded from a scientific point of view, we conclude that there is no sound morphological or clinical evidence that the lesion is other than biologically benign. The lesion is most likely another peculiar variant of epithelioid and spindle cell naevus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Catholic University Medical School, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Celleno
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Massi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008264:Macrophages / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008544:Melanocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D008548:Melanosis / Q000473:pathology; D018332:Nevus, Epithelioid and Spindle Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*