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- Dokumenttyp:
- Journal Article; Article
- Autor(en):
- Braun-Falco, M; Friedrichson, E; Ring, J
- Titel:
- Subepidermal cleft formation as a diagnostic marker for cutaneous malignant melanoma.
- Abstract:
- Cleft formation has been postulated as a clue to the histopathological diagnosis of malignant melanoma (MM). The frequency and reliability of clefts as a diagnostic criterion remain to be determined. We reviewed 503 cases of histologically proven MM searching for clefting between the epidermal layer and underlying MM. Cleft was defined as a separation of at least 0.3 mm in length. Conspicuous cleft formation was present in 120 (24%) of 503 MMs. The presence of clefts was not associated with age or sex of the patients, but showed a slight predilection for the back, a slightly higher prevalence in superficial spreading type of MM and for tumors with a Breslow thickness between 1 and 2 mm. Morphologically, clefts could be separated in 3 different types: linear (37.5%), single-nest (10.9%), and multi-nest (51.6%). In comparison, among 939 benign melanocytic lesions including 100 Spitz or Reed nevi, only 9 exhibited clefts longer than 0.3 mm (< 1%). One was an atypical compound nevus; all others were Spitz nevi, with the majority exhibiting an arched morphology above 1 or 2 large round nests. The relative frequency of cleft formation allowed a highly significant differentiation between MM and benign melanocytic lesions. Clefts are a reliable diagnostic criterion in favor of MM.
- Zeitschriftentitel:
- Hum Pathol
- Jahr:
- 2005
- Band / Volume:
- 36
- Heft / Issue:
- 4
- Seitenangaben Beitrag:
- 412-5
- Sprache:
- eng
- Volltext / DOI:
- doi:10.1016/j.humpath.2005.02.005
- PubMed:
- http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15892003
- Print-ISSN:
- 0046-8177
- TUM Einrichtung:
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Dermatologie und Allergologie
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