Amelanotic melanoma masquerading as a plantar wart: A case report and review

Abstract

A 69-year-old male presented with asymptomatic skin coloured, exophytic, verrucous plaque on right sole of three months duration. He had been diagnosed as a plantar wart and treated with chemical destructive methods. Biopsy from the lesion showed infiltrate of nests of atypical melanocytes extending upto reticular dermis. The malignant cells were positive for S100 and human melanin black 45(HMB 45) with a high MiB-1 proliferative index thus confirming diagnosis of amelanotic melanoma (AM). We report this case to highlight the atypical presentation of amelanotic melanoma, the possibility of misdiagnosis and the importance of immunohistochemistry in diagnosing the same.