Desmoplastic melanoma: a challenge for the oncologist

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate clinical, pathologic and genetic features of desmoplastic melanoma (DM). Materials & methods: Analysis of all DM records from 1991 to 2015. Results: The most common location of DMs was the head and neck (69%); median age and follow-up were 60.5 and 7.3 years, respectively. A familial predisposition for DMs and others malignancies was analyzed. Thin Breslow thickness (<4.5 mm) was associated with an intraepidermal component or a previous lentigo maligna, whereas high Breslow thickness (>4.5 mm) was observed in ‘pure’ DM. Conclusion: DM could progress from an early phase, characterized by an intraepidermal component, to late phase, characterized by a dermal nodule. This hypothesis correlates with melanoma genetic and NF1 mutation, which could be an early event in the progression of DM.