title: Predominant dermoscopic patterns observed among nevi.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It has been clinically observed that patients' "normal" moles resemble each other. Whether this concept is applicable to dermoscopic practice has not been sufficiently studied.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether physicians evaluating dermoscopic images would identify common dermoscopic profiles of nevi within individual patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Images of 205 nevi belonging to 18 patients were evaluated by 2 dermatologists for dermoscopic global pattern, color, and specific structures. We defined dermoscopic patterns as dominant if seen in >or= 40% of the patient's nevi; a minor pattern was defined as 20 to 39%.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A dominant pattern was seen in 15 patients (83%). In 13 (72%) of the patients, >or= 80% of the nevi were classified into one, two, or three global patterns. The reticular global pattern was the most prevalent dominant pattern, seen in 9 patients (50%); the homogeneous pattern was the most prevalent minor pattern, seen in 16 patients (89%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Individuals tend to have one to three predominant dermoscopic nevus global patterns.
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10022, USA.
authors.forename: Alon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scope
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burroni
authors.forename: Anna Liza Chan
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Agero
authors.forename: Cristiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Benvenuto-Andrade
authors.forename: Stephen W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Dusza
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rubegni
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bono
authors.forename: Giordana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dell'Eva
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Salaro
authors.forename: Ashfaq A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Marghoob
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D046169:Dermoscopy; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009506:Nevus / Q000145:classification* / Q000473:pathology; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000145:classification* / Q000473:pathology