title: Melanoma arising in a hairy nevus spilus.
abstract: Cutaneous melanoma may develop de novo on normal skin or in contiguity with a potential melanocytic precursor. We report a 45-year-old man who presented with a recently developed nodule in a previously stable congenital nevus. Physical examination revealed a 10x18-cm lesion with speckled lentiginous pigmentation and terminal hairs on the lower back. A 2x2-cm suspicious nodule in the lesion was noted by the patient 2 months earlier. Histopathological evaluation of the nevus and the suspicious nodule revealed the characteristics of a melanocytic nevus and melanoma, respectively. It was interesting for the authors to observe terminal hairs in a lesion that was clinically 'speckled lentiginous' in appearance. This case report is a reminder that there may be great variation in the clinical appearance of nevus spilus, and thus dermatologists must be aware of these lesions as potential precursors of malignant melanoma.
authors.affiliation: Izmir Atatürk Education and Research Hospital Dermatology, Surgery, Pathology, Department, Izmir, Turkey. ligulbilgin@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Ilgül
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zeren-Bilgin
authors.forename: Serhat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gür
authors.forename: Oya
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Aydin
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ermete
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007911:Lentigo / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology