title: Two cases of unusual acral melanocytic tumors: illustration of molecular cytogenetics as a diagnostic tool.
abstract: The differential diagnosis between benign Spitz nevus and malignant melanoma may present considerable difficulties in some cases. Here we report 2 unusual melanocytic tumors with spitzoid features developing in acral sites of Japanese patients to illustrate the use of comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) to classify these lesions. Case 1 was a 12-mm-thick, >2 cm-diameter nodule on the sole of a 37-year-old man. Case 2 was a subungual tumor of the left index finger in a 13-year-old boy. CGH showed absence of chromosomal aberrations in case 1 and multiple aberrations in case 2, including focused amplification as previously described in acral melanomas. Case 1 was free of disease after 2.5 years of follow-up, whereas case 2 developed lymph node metastasis. We conclude that molecular techniques such as CGH can be of diagnostic help in the classification of histologically ambiguous lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science, Takara-machi, Kanazawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takata
authors.forename: Keishi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maruo
authors.forename: Toshiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kageshita
authors.forename: Shibo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Tomomichi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: Fumiaki
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shirasaki
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takehara
authors.forename: Boris C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Bastian
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002880:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11; D002895:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 5; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005121:Extremities / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008544:Melanocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000556:secondary; D018332:Nevus, Epithelioid and Spindle Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm