Abstract
We describe a 39-year-old male patient with malignant melanoma on his right lower leg of five years’ duration in association with numerous pigmented spots on all body sites. A microscopic examination of the lesion on the lower leg, which had been resected at another hospital, revealed nodular melanoma, Clark’s level IV with a maximal tumor thickness of 3.5 mm. There was a metastasis in the right inguinal lymph node. A physical examination revealed a total of 177 pigmented macules ranging from 2 to 12 mm in diameter. Two of these pigmented macules with either a reddish hue or a notched border were histologically diagnosed as dysplastic nevi due to the lentiginous nested hyperplasia of the melanocytes, the bridging of nests, a dermal lymphocytic response and lamellar fibroplasia. This is the eighth report of a Japanese patient developing malignant melanoma in association with dysplastic nevi.
