Characteristic Epiluminescent Microscopic Features of Early Malignant Melanoma on Glabrous Skin

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Abstract
EPILUMINESCENT microscopy, also called dermatoscopy or surface microscopy, is now widely used for the clinical evaluation of pigmented skin lesions.1-11 The most important use of this technique is in the accurate diagnosis of malignant melanoma, particularly in its early stages. Although many investigators have reported valuable findings on the subject, most authors investigated pigmented lesions of nonglabrous skin. In a previous study of the use of a videomicroscope,12 the macular and plaque portions of acral lentiginous melanoma of glabrous skin exhibited accentuated pigmentation of the ridges of the skin markings that run mostly in parallel on these anatomical sites. In this study, also with the use of a videomicroscope, we investigated epiluminescent microscopic features of early lesions of malignant melanoma on glabrous skin, comparing them with those of benign melanocytic nevi on these sites.