| Title | The ringlike pattern in vulvar melanosis: a new dermoscopic clue for diagnosis. | | Author(s) | Ferrari A, Buccini P, Covello R, De Simone P, Silipo V, Mariani G, Eibenschutz L, Mariani L, Catricalà C | | Institution | Department of Dermatologic Oncology, Santa Maria and San Gallicano Dermatologic Institute, IFO of Rome, Via Elio Chianesi 53, 00144 Rome, Italy. angiferrari@libero.it | | Source | Arch Dermatol 2008 Aug; 144(8):1030-4. | | MeSH | Adult
Aged
Dermoscopy
Female
Humans
Melanosis
Middle Aged
Mucous Membrane
Retrospective Studies
Skin
Statistics as Topic
Vulva
Vulvar Diseases
| | Abstract | BACKGROUND: Vulvar melanosis is a benign pigmented lesion that may clinically mimic melanoma. Whereas the dermoscopic features of other pigmented skin lesions have been extensively described, little is known about vulvar melanosis.
OBSERVATIONS: A retrospective dermoscopic study was conducted on 87 lesions with histopathologically proved melanosis. We describe and define, for the first time to our knowledge, a ringlike pattern, found in 28 of 87 melanotic lesions (32%), characterized by multiple round to oval structures, white to tan, with dark brown, well-defined regular borders. The structureless and globularlike patterns were observed in 18 of 87 lesions (21%), the parallel pattern in 15 (17%), and the cobblestonelike and reticularlike patterns in 4 (5%). A significant association was found between the distribution of multifocal lesions showing a ringlike vs a nonringlike pattern (82% vs 52%; P = .008), whereas a weak association was found between anatomical site and the different patterns (P = .55). The ringlike pattern was frequently combined with multifocality and simultaneous occurrence at the labia majora and the labia minora.
CONCLUSION: Dermoscopy can be useful for the clinical detection of vulvar melanosis, and the ringlike pattern may represent a new dermoscopic clue for the diagnosis of this lesion. | | Language | eng | | Pub Type(s) | Journal Article
| | PubMed ID | 18711077 |
|
